Packer with voice of an angel

Colette Sheridan talks to Louis Lovett about his hit show The Girl who Forgot to Sing Badly

PARENTS and children aged six upwards are guaranteed a good night out at the Everyman in Cork where The Ark and Theatre Lovett is staging The Girl who Forgot to Sing Badly from tomorrow to July 1. This critically acclaimed one-man show, performed by Louis Lovett, is in demand internationally. Next year, it is going to Broadway where it will play in the Victory Theatre. It has also been invited to Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The play is about a young girl named Peggy O’Hegarty who works with her parents. They pack fruit into tins and furniture onto trucks. “They’re very talented packers,” says Lovett. “Peggy’s parents once packed a grand piano into a container usually set aside for jelly sweets. One day, the phone stops ringing and there’s no work. Peggy’s parents take it badly, resigning themselves to their fate.”

In this fantastical play, Peggy is the heroine. She decides to head outdoors “into a very wintry day where she discovers everyone has disappeared from the city.” She goes home to tell her parents but to her dismay, they have left. “Things take a very dark turn and Peggy embarks on an epic adventure and ultimately saves the city from disaster.”

The set is incredible, says Lovett. “I refer to it as the second character in the play. It has surprises. When people come into the theatre, they’ll see a huge wooden box. It takes on a life of its own, opening out and revealing a whole world.” The set designer is Paul O’Mahony, who designed the set for Pygmalion at the Abbey Theatre last year.

Lovett, who set up his company two years ago to stage theatre for young people, plays several roles. They include a mouse that is important to the story as well as a baddie called Peter.

Theatre Lovett is not a theatre-in-education company. Rather, it produces entertaining plays that are aimed at both children and parents.

“The main message from this play is how fantastically joyful theatre can be for absolutely everyone. I engage the child and the adult at the same time.”

Lovett, introduced to the acting world by his brother: Beckett interpreter, Conor Lovett, has been performing for about 20 years. Theatre Lovett provides a training module for actors who want to engage young audiences. On June 29, at the Everyman, it hosts a master class for actors.

“Training is a big part of Theatre Lovett’s mission. It’s not just for young actors. It’s also for experienced actors whom we encourage to turn their craft towards making work for young people. When you see an adult enjoying our play, it’s great. When the adult is looking at the child enjoying it and the child is sneaking a glance at the adult, it’s what I call a win/win, situation.”

Lovett interacts with his audience. “I don’t invite people up on the stage but I certainly don’t ignore them. In my training, I talk about ‘surfing the audience’ and riding with its energy.”

The title of the play is a humorous reference to Peggy’s possession “of the voice of an angel, a grossly unfortunate angel who can’t sing at all. But later in the play, there’s a pivotal moment when Peggy forgets to sing badly.”

The play was written by Tasmania-based Finegan Kruckemeyer who was brought up in Leap, West Cork.

“He was born to a German father and an English mother. They were hippies, drawn to mystical Ireland. When Finegan was seven, the family emigrated to Australia and he later went to Tasmania. He’s one of the most successful playwrights for younger audiences at work today.”

Theatre Lovett has been acknowledged as a successful company. Earlier this year, the founders were named winners of the David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards, having been nominated by Business2Arts. The prize is €100,000 worth of mentorship for this year from leading companies involved in marketing, branding, accounts and law. “It’s an incredible prize. We also won €10,000 in cash.”

Lovett works with his wife, Muireann Ahern, who is the co-artistic director of the company. The couple is following the example of Conor Lovett and his wife, Judy Hegarty, who also collaborate through their company, the Gare St Lazare Players.

“Our parents worked together (in the former Lovett’s Restaurant in Cork). Conor says we grew up seeing our parents work very hard together and very successfully.” For the Lovetts, the collaboration with spouses is clearly a recipe for success.

There will be a special matinee performance of The Girl who Forgot to Sing Badly on June 30. Facilitated by Arts & Disability Ireland, it is aimed at the hard of hearing and will be a captioned performance.