A room with a view of three comic couples
THE light relief of Neil Simon’s astute comic writing is evident in Plaza Suite, produced by Rough Magic Theatre Company at the Cork Opera House on January 24-25. These dates kicks off a national tour for the play, which sold out last July at the Pavilion in Dun Laoighaire.
American Simon is the author of classics such as The Odd Couple and Brighton Beach Memoirs. Plaza Suite is about the misadventures of three couples at crucial moments in their lives. The three separate ‘plays’, or vignettes, are set in the same suite in New York’s famous Plaza Hotel. Eight actors star.
The first act, Visitor from Mamaroneck, introduces the audience to a married couple, no longer in the first flush of love. Sam and Karen Nash are revisiting their honeymoon suite to re-ignite their relationship. Karen’s attempt to save the marriage backfires as she and her husband argue about whether or not Sam is having an affair with his secretary.
The second act, Visitor from Hollywood, is about a meeting between film producer, Jesse Kiplinger and his old flame, a housewife, Muriel Tate. Tate, although aware of Kiplinger’s reputation as a ladies’ man, only wants friendship. But Jesse has seduction in mind, leading to misunderstanding and comedy.
The third act, Visitor from Forest Hills, features married couple, Roy and Norma Hubley and their about-to-be-married daughter, Mimsey. Nervous Mimsey has locked herself into the bathroom of the suite and refuses to leave. This is the most comic act, with the wedding guests downstairs awaiting the trio.
Eleanor Methven, who stars in the third act, says: “They’re beautifully paced pieces. The first act has a bitter-sweet theme; the second one is like bubblegum comedy and the third one is rip-roaring farce. They’re really great fun. Neil Simon is a great writer for actors. His writing is fast-paced but so brilliantly written that the rhythm dictates how you deliver the lines. It’s all about timing.”
Methven plays the mother of the bride-to-be and her husband is played by Stephen Brennan. Valerie O’Connor and Paul Curley also star in this act.
“The fact that Mimsey is getting married in the Plaza Hotel is a really big deal for her parents. They can just about afford the wedding. But Mimsey refuses to leave the bathroom. She gets collywobbles at the last minute. While it looks like a play about trying to get a girl out of a bathroom, it’s really about the parents’ relationship. They’re a very loud, mouthy New York couple who scream and shout at each other a lot. You can see the 20 years of their relationship by watching them trying to solve the problem of their daughter’s reluctance to marry,” she says.
Visitor from Forest Hills is directed by Matt Torney. The three directors are graduates of the Rough Magic Seeds Programme. The other two are Sophie Motley and Aoife Spillane-Hinks.
“The Rough Magic Seeds Programme is a real boon for the Irish theatre community. Every year, the company takes in a group of young theatre practitioners. They could be directors, writers, producers and lighting designers. They are mentored by professional people at Rough Magic and they also go on field trips to Europe to see theatre and are given placements in the likes of the National Theatre in England. It’s a superb training ground. When these people go on the programme, they want to consolidate what theatrical experience they already have. The proof of the pudding is that we have three youngish directors taking on Plaza Suite and doing a superb job of it,” Methven says.
The three acts are stand-alone pieces with the iconic setting unifying them. The set designer is Blaithín Sheerin, “one of the best set designers in Ireland. There’s great detail in the set. Set in the late 1960s, the design is very much in the brown and gold mode. It’s not luxurious by today’s standards but it has that feeling of a really good hotel,” Methven says.
Methven has worked for all the major Irish theatre companies. She has a cameo role in Titanic: Blood and Steel, the 12-episode TV series marking the anniversary of the Titanic. The series, directed by Ciaran Donnelly, will be screened in the spring. “Plaza Suite is a complete contrast to the Titanic series,” says Methven, who started her career in a theatre-in-education company in Northern Ireland, followed by a spell at the Lyric Theatre. “Neil Simon’s play is incredibly funny. It takes people out of themselves and gives them plenty of laughs.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
