Play Review- John Sheehy’s play Fred and Alice

John Sheehy’s play Fred and Alice presents you with a quirky love story between two characters with special needs. This fairy-tale love story begins when Fred and Alice meet in a home for special needs. The play sees them going on a journey where they fall in love and move in together. It is also worth pointing out that the 99^th performance of this play took place in the River Bank arts centre located in the picturesque Kildare town of Newbridge.

It is a testament not only to the great writing skills of John Sheehy and the acting of Ciaran Bermingham as Fred, and Cora Fenton as Alice, that the play managed to be a combination of both serious and comic. The play is firstly about the very topical issue of people with special needs having relationships. This Callback theatre production does not favour one side of the argument over the other, but allows the audience to make up their own mind as to whether or not, people with intellectual disabilities should be allowed to enter into a relationship. There can be little doubt in anyone’s mind that this was the dramatic question the play presented. However on the other hand the play brings us on a comedy journey of a man and women who sort out everything in their own hilarious way. The cries of laughter that came from the audience during the play is a testament to this fact.

There can also be little doubt that the identifiable production concept is how a couple who both have an intellectual disability can cope while in the real world. The production concept manifests itself when Fred and Alice take the brave decision to leave the security of the care home and take a step into the big bad world. It also manifests itself in the scene where Alice makes the statement “an immature coping strategy is better than no coping strategy” It is also worth reflecting that perhaps few would disagree with the words expressed by poor Alice. The writer and director of the play John Sheehy got his inspiration to write this play during his college years. It is interesting to note  that while the central theme of the play was how couples with intellectual disabilities cope in the real world, Sheehy never before had any interaction with people with disabilities. Despite this Sheehy along with producer Cora Fenton who also plays Alice masterfully show the inner fantasy world of a couple with intellectual disabilities. The cast and crew are very adamant that this play is not about laughing at people with intellectual disabilities, but in fact laughing with them. The elements of production were masterfully coordinated and compatible, a further compliment to all those involved. The play goes from how Fred and Alice meet for the first time, to leaving the care home altogether, to finally setting up home themselves.

                   

There are few who would hesitate in saying that both Ciaran Bermingham as Fred and Cora Fenton as Alice gave stellar performances in their respective roles. Ciaran Bermingham as Fred managed to master the mannerisms that can be associated with a person with intellectual disabilities. He mastered the role to such an extent, it gave the audience a glimpse into that world. While Cora Fenton as Alice managed to accurately portray the role of an innocent girl with an intellectual disability whose only fault is that she can only see the good in people. It can be difficult for some, who are unfamiliar with the wourld of a person with an intellectual disability to understand the mannerisms of both Fred and Alice. However through a combination of great acting and directing, the audience came away more educated about the subject.

The surroundings of the Kildare venue allowed the play and its characters to come alive to the audience. Some people are of the opinion that in order to see a good play in this country you need to travel up to Dublin. However if the quality of productions that can be seen in the River Bank is anything to go by, Dublin is no longer the only place to see a quality play like Fred and Alice.

The costume design of Fred and Alice was particularly noteworthy and contributed greatly to the total production. The costume worn by Cora Fenton allowed her to portray Alice as a doll like character. This was perhaps to represent the fragile nature of her character. While the clothing worn by Ciaran Bermingham as Fred created the image of a sheltered character.

The sounds used during the course of the play brought the audience into the fantasy world of Fred and Alice, but they also allowed the audience to go on a journey with them. My overall impression of Fred and Alice as a production was it not only allowed the audience a glimpse into the fantasy world of two leading characters, it also brought the audience on a journey rather than just telling a story.