Someone Who'll Watch Over Me
Encyclopedia
Someone Who'll Watch over Me is a play written by Irish
dramatist Frank McGuinness
. The play focuses on the trials and tribulations of an Irishman, an Englishman
and an American
(Edward, Michael, and Adam) who are kidnapped and held hostage
by unseen Arabs in Lebanon
. As the three men strive for survival they also strive to overcome their personal and nationalistic differences. Related to this is each individual's own attempt to maintain sanity under the watchful eye of both captors and supposed comrade
s. At times the dramatic dialogue
reaches a level of Beckettinian
absurdity, as even the audience
is unable to draw a distinction between the characters' insanity
and humour. We are made witness and accomplice to a humour
based on something apparently ghastly, the loss of rationality.
http://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/, London
and transferred to the West End
Vaudeville Theatre
, September-October 1992.
It was produced on Broadway
at the Booth Theatre
, opening on May 29, 1992 and closing on June 13, 1993, after 292 performances and 2 previews. Directed by Robin Lefevre, it starred Stephen Rea
(Edward), James McDaniel
(Adam), and Alec McCowen
(Michael); Michael York
took the Michael role late in the play's run. It received Tony Award
nominations for Best Play and Best Actor in Play (Stephen Rea); Stephen Rea received the Theatre World Award
. The show won the 1993 New York Drama Critics' Circle
Award for Best Foreign Play.
It was produced at the West End
New Ambassador Theatre April 16th - May 22nd, 2005, where reviewer Peggy Nuttall wrote: "...the best thing I've seen in a long time." Directed by Dominic
Dromgoole, the play starred Jonny Lee Miller
(Adam), Aidan Gillen
(Edward) and David Threlfall
(Michael).
More recently it was produced by the "Square Béal Theatre Company", showing in Virgina and Shercock, Co.Cavan during September and October 2010 and by Theatre by the Lake
, Keswick, Cumbria from August-November 2011
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
dramatist Frank McGuinness
Frank McGuinness
Professor Frank McGuinness is an award-winning Irish playwright and poet. As well as his own works, which include Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, he is recognised for a "strong record of adapting literary classics, having translated the plays of Racine, Sophocles, Ibsen and...
. The play focuses on the trials and tribulations of an Irishman, an Englishman
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(Edward, Michael, and Adam) who are kidnapped and held hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
by unseen Arabs in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. As the three men strive for survival they also strive to overcome their personal and nationalistic differences. Related to this is each individual's own attempt to maintain sanity under the watchful eye of both captors and supposed comrade
Comrade
Comrade means "friend", "colleague", or "ally". The word comes from French camarade. The term is frequently used by left-wing organizations around the globe. "Comrade" has often become a stock phrase and form of address. This word has its regional equivalents available in many...
s. At times the dramatic dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
reaches a level of Beckettinian
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
absurdity, as even the audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
is unable to draw a distinction between the characters' insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
and humour. We are made witness and accomplice to a humour
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
based on something apparently ghastly, the loss of rationality.
Productions
The play was first staged in July 1992, at the Hampstead TheatreHampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
http://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and transferred to the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
, September-October 1992.
It was produced on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Booth Theatre
Booth Theatre
The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 222 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York City.Architect Henry B. Herts designed the Booth and its companion Shubert Theatre as a back-to-back pair sharing a Venetian Renaissance-style façade...
, opening on May 29, 1992 and closing on June 13, 1993, after 292 performances and 2 previews. Directed by Robin Lefevre, it starred Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in high profile films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on Pluto...
(Edward), James McDaniel
James McDaniel
James McDaniel is an American stage, film and television actor. He is best known for playing Lt. Arthur Fancy on the television show NYPD Blue. He also played a police officer in the ill-fated 1990 series Cop Rock, and a close advisor to activist Malcolm X in the 1992 film Malcolm X. He also...
(Adam), and Alec McCowen
Alec McCowen
Alexander Duncan "Alec" McCowen CBE is an English actor. He is known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. He was awarded the CBE in the 1985 New Year's Honours List.-Personal:...
(Michael); Michael York
Michael York (actor)
Michael York, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:York was born in Fulmer, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the son of Florence Edith May , a musician; and Joseph Gwynne Johnson, a Llandovery born Welsh ex-Royal Artillery British Army officer and executive with Marks and Spencer department stores...
took the Michael role late in the play's run. It received Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations for Best Play and Best Actor in Play (Stephen Rea); Stephen Rea received the Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
. The show won the 1993 New York Drama Critics' Circle
New York Drama Critics' Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 24 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley...
Award for Best Foreign Play.
It was produced at the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
New Ambassador Theatre April 16th - May 22nd, 2005, where reviewer Peggy Nuttall wrote: "...the best thing I've seen in a long time." Directed by Dominic
Dromgoole, the play starred Jonny Lee Miller
Jonny Lee Miller
Jonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller is an English actor. During the initial days he was best known for his roles in the 1996 films Trainspotting and Hackers...
(Adam), Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen is an Irish stage and screen actor and television presenter. He is known in Ireland for his role in Love/Hate, in the UK for his role in Queer as Folk and in the US for his role in HBO's television series The Wire in which he plays Tommy Carcetti and for his role in Game of Thrones as...
(Edward) and David Threlfall
David Threlfall
David Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show.-Early life:...
(Michael).
More recently it was produced by the "Square Béal Theatre Company", showing in Virgina and Shercock, Co.Cavan during September and October 2010 and by Theatre by the Lake
Theatre by the Lake
Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, Cumbria, England is situated on the shores of Derwentwater in one of the most picturesque locations in the Lake District. It opened in 1999, replacing the old Blue Box Touring Theatre, and was made possible by an Arts Council Lottery Fund Grant...
, Keswick, Cumbria from August-November 2011
External links
- IBDB listing
- information on 2005 production
- New York Times review, November 24, 1992
- Curtain Up review, London, 21st April 2005
- Photos of a production of Someone Who'll Watch Over Me