Wake of Yer Man cast get feel for Derrygreenagh

Síofra Grant

A gaggle of actors were standing at a minibus in Derrygreenagh Park, Rochfortbridge last Thursday morning.

At first glance, they looked a bit lost – but that was not the case; in fact, they were the cast and crew of Derrygreenagh native Yvonne Heavey’s production, In the Wake of Yer Man.

The play, originally a collection of short stories, focuses on a 14-year-old girl, Polly and her mother, Nancy, in 1990s rural Ireland. Following the unexpected death of Jimmy O’Sullivan, Polly and her friends believe their Ouija Board sessions might have foretold his demise.

As the cast exit the bus, they walk through the estate wearing T-shirts that proclaim, ‘Up the Bog’. They enter the circular housing estate that dominated the playwright’s early years.

Many of the cast members are from Jersey, where Yvonne now lives. They seemed amazed by the rural housing estate – something that’s normal for us here in Ireland was a novelty to them.

What stood out was the green area at the centre of the estate, which near the end of the tour some of the cast spent time doing cartwheels on.

Yvonne hosted the tour to allow the cast members who were not from the area to have a deeper connection with the story.

As the walked around, Derrygreenagh members of the cast excitedly pointed out features of the play that were still present in the estate.

“Mutt Fennelly!”, a dog that features in the play, was excitedly exclaimed by some of the group as a dog barked in the distance.

At the entrance of the estate, Yvonne pointed out a house on one end of the circle saying, “this is the Ouija Board house”; indeed, that actually happened.

“Our parents found out and a priest had to come to bless my friend’s house,” said Yvonne.

She was happy to have the chance to guide the cast around the living set of the play. “It’s actually incredible to come back here because it was such an incredible childhood, you can just see it walking around, it was such an amazing playground.

“To bring the cast here is an honour and I’m proud to bring them here. I wanted them to embody the scenes much more.”

Director of The Wake of Yer Man, Daniel Egerton, said the day was a great idea. “It’s mad for me because I went to school here in Rochfortbridge,” he said, “and I had a lot of friends from Derrygreenagh.

“It’s all weird for me because I haven’t been back here in years, so when I read the script for the first time, there were lots of references to Rochfortbridge and I knew clearly in my head what Yvonne was talking about.

“It was references to different roads, parts of the town and people, although we’ve since changed the names, but yeah it’s mad.

“Something that’s so normalised in my brain then trying to put it into a theatrical context is quite strange. It definitely helps in trying to get these places across to people.

“The opening scene is set in one of these houses, and the semi circular loop of all the houses is clearly mentioned on stage.

“Three girls in the show are talking about the houses they live in and trying to give a sense of place was important.

“A lot of people who will come see the show probably know this area and, to see a different part of Westmeath even being written about is great.

“I think it’s just such a weird experience seeing all this crew here now because it’s been abstract for them up until this point. You know, the thing about going out and touching grass… it’s like that. It’s being able to stand and see where these people lived and existed. It’s obviously going to be a huge help.”