An old man tunes into the events of his past on one-man show

Louis Lovett brings a touch of Beckett to his play for young people, writes Colette Sheridan.

ONE-MAN show Mr Foley, the Radio Operator is “theatre for all the family”, says actor and co-director of Theatre Lovett, Louis Lovett. The play, which is written by Frances Kay, toured 21 venues in Ireland last year, and is coming to Cork’s Everyman for the first time. It’s about an elderly man, Jack Foley, who sits alone (with a spider for company) beside his radio, moving the dial to evoke memories.

“I play old Mr Foley and I play him as a young man,” says Cork-born Lovett. “Even though he was in the circus, where he met his wife, the love of his life, not everything was rosy. It was a tough life. The play hits all the emotions. We don’t shy away from the darker colours of the rainbow in our work. There’s happiness and great sadness in this play — and great fun as well.”

The radio is a wonderful contraption, but cantankerous. “Sometimes, it works; sometimes, it doesn’t. On another level, it’s a metaphor for Mr Foley’s memories. Just as his memories are beginning to stutter a little, the radio stations are sometimes as clear as daylight and then they fade. Mr Foley can land on a glorious memory of himself and his wife. There are flashbacks and then the memories fade and he’s back in his room, a little flustered.”

Lovett, the younger brother of Beckett actor, Conor Lovett, says the play is influenced by Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, in which 69-year-old Krapp listens to his old tape recorder. “We make work for absolutely everyone, using professional actors. It’s for adults and children at the same time. We’re kind of like The Simpsons in that respect. We set ourselves a hard task. The company is nearly four years old now. Muireann Ahern [co-director of Theatre Lovett] and myself have each been working in the fields of theatre, children and education for 20 years. We’re a young company on old heads,” he says.

The Dublin company, which is funded by the Arts Council and Dublin City Council, with assistance for touring abroad from Culture Ireland, does not have an educational remit.

“We entertain. But we don’t do kiddies’ theatre. I’ve been in situations where the adults drop their children off at the theatre and then exit, as they don’t want to sit through shows. But we have adults who literally try to borrow children to bring to our shows.”

Lovett says Mr Foley, the Radio Operator isn’t a comedy. “It’s a trip through memory lane. Also, the radio does some things which I won’t reveal now. There are wonderful surprises in this play. Mr Foley is really a happy man.

“Yes, he’s in his twilight years, but he has the glorious company of his memories. He almost wraps himself in his memories and shares them with the audience.

“Children take great pleasure in how Mr Foley interacts with the spider. The adults might see the spider as being a metaphor for someone he knew in his past.”

Theatre Lovett’s niche is adults who want to bring children to the theatre without “your usual run-of-the-mill polka dots, pigtails and bright colours”.

In other words, Mr Foley, The Radio Operator is Beckett for young people.

Mr Foley, The Radio Operator is at the Everyman on October 7, at 7pm. There are schools performances on Oct 7-8