Unnecessary Farce in Moonan

A review by Bob, Barb and Kate Mailer

THIS year the Moonan Mummers celebrated 50 years of providing continuous live entertainment to the local community.

Instigated and inspired by the wonderful Myra Mitchell, this organisation has managed to draw on the local community, extract amazing and in many cases, untapped a talent and provide a high level of quality entertainment and fun for its many fans.

See photo gallery below…

This year was no exception and indeed, according to some of the original founding members, one of the best productions yet. Unnecessary Farce had all the elements of a terrific comedy play, perfect for the audience for which it has been selected.

After the always delicious and hearty main meal, the entertainment kicked off with the usual warm welcome extended by emcee Richard Carter. A natural host, Richard set the scene for the entertaining night that lay ahead with his usual aplomb.

Before the curtains were raised however, Myra’s son and himself a founding Mummers member, Warwick Mitchell, provided an interesting and colourful history of the Moonan Mummers, their humble beginnings and intriguingly, the history of the title “Mummers” – I suspect there were many in the audience who had little knowledge of this fascinating fact!

Then the fun began – the curtains were raised on a simple but very well educated set – two identical hotel rooms with something rather untoward appearing to occur in one of the beds. So began the rollicking story of Unnecessary Farce.

Matt Grainger as the bumbling Officer Eric Sheridan once again proved why he is such a favourite with every audience. His natural talent for comedic acting and presence on stage made him an invaluable asset to the Moonan Mummers. He relishes these roles and has the difficult yet essential ability to maintain his character on stage at all times, never once allowing the spell over the audience to be broken. He also has the ability to undertake these farcical roles without falling into the amateur trap of overacting.

The relative newcomer in Kath McLoughlin once again didn’t disappoint. Kath has appeared in a number of recent productions and her natural talent is an asset for the Mummers. Her role playing was excellent and she was very convincing as the naïve, desperate to achieve, Officer Billie Dwyer. As those who attended will attest though, the highlight of her performance cams in the Second Act with her extraordinary rapid fire interpretation of what had just been uttered by the terrifying Todd – one of the highlights of the play Kath and perfectly executed.

Long-time Mummers member Sally Mitchell executed her role as the jittery yet somewhat frustrated account Miss Brown extremely well. Perfectly cast for the tole, Sally oscillated from the nervous uptight accountant to the “very hot” Miss Brown. Word perfect and with her usual enthralling presence on stage. Sally once again did not disappoint.

Founding member Tim McLoughlin was perfectly case as the unfortunate Mayor. Tim has years of experience under his belt treading the boards and appeared to have little difficulty in assuming the role of Mayor Meekly. Tim cannot be allowed to hang up his script just yet.

Newcomer Lewis King as the fabulous Agent Frank was one of the highlights of the production. His delivery of his not insignificant role was exceptional – word perfect, with just the right inflections for those particularly nervous moments. It is hoped that Lewis will continue to be part of the Moonan Mummers for years to come as his contribution to this production was superb.

Another highlight was the performance by Liam McLoughlin of the ferocious Scottish clansman, Todd. This performance was Oscar worthy and Liam is to be commended for not only his exceptional Scottish accent but his ability to ensure that no-one in the audience had a clue as to what he was saying, as was required, on occasion, in the play. His performance was hilarious and his execution of the role excellent. He was perfectly cast and had the audience in stitches with his incredibly believable portrayal of a murderous Scotsman. Long may Liam (and his wonderful off sider Kath) continue to contribute to the Moonan Mummers and carry on the McLoughlin tradition of treading the boards as established by his parents, Tim and Marion.

The cast was rounded beautifully by the arrival of the deceptively meek Mrs Meekly. Anne Mitchell did a wonderful job transforming from the seemingly aged Mrs Meekly into a gun toting murderous schemer. Her Scottish twang was also noted at the appropriate times and her portrayal of this two sided character was well executed.

Farces are extremely difficult to pull off successfully and professionally. Whilst from the perspective of the audience, it may look terribly difficult, timing is everything. This year’s production had the timing down perfectly. There was no evidence of any prompting required or mi-moves on stage. All of this, combined with a well rehearsed cast, who had been obviously very well guided by the talented producers in Warwick Mitchell and Serena White, resulted in one of the best productions seen in recent times by the Moonan Mummers. This in no way derogates from previous productions but does imbue in all of us the hope that the Moonan Mummers will continue to be a force in entertainment in our community for another fifty years.

Well done.