Stones in His Pockets
Production: Stones in His Pockets – Eastern Angles
John Peel Centre, Stowmarket
Back at my old stomping ground, where I was once a volunteer, the John Peel Centre hosted the opening night of Eastern Angles Spring Tour, with their production of Marie Jones’ ‘Stones in His Pockets’. This quirky little play is now almost twenty-five years old and tells the story of an American film, ‘The Quiet Valley’ being made in rural Ireland and the effect it has on the locals who are roped in to play extras.
Since the early 1950s Ireland has long looked west towards America for investment, either economic or artistic, in an attempt to drag itself away from its international reputation as nothing more than a beef supplier to the UK. The premise of the play then, is totally plausible given that one of the most famous John Wayne films ‘The Quiet Man’ was shot there in 1952. There is a fitting nod. No, a full-blown point and character inclusion, to ‘The Quiet Man’ in this play.
It all starts with an Oliver-esque request for some Lemon Meringue Pie, features a suicide just before the interval and spends the second half looking introspectively at life’s depths and shallows. And there are cows, big fluffy cows!
The brilliantly written script by Irish writer and actress Marie Jones whispers of the American romantic notion of Irishness and screams of the harsh reality of living in rural Ireland. But the genius of this play is that the entire cast, all sixteen of them, are played by just two actors.
Cathal Ryan and Lórcan Strain have the unenviable task of making us believe that they are, in one instant, the awe struck local, and the next – by the mere twist of a cap – the production assistant yelling orders on set. Indeed, the humble Irish cap featured extensively as a multi-functional prop.
Of the many transitions throughout the play, two will linger with me long after this Eastern Angles tour ends. Cahal Ryan’s transition to and from thirty-something Jake into Mikey, a belligerent old seasoned extra. Blink and you miss it. Then there was Lórcan Strain’s metamorphous appearance as the vampy actress Caroline Giovani, from – well just about any character, but most notably from Jock Campbell, her aggressive Scottish minder.
Directors Jake Smith and Rosy May must take credit for the seamless flow of movement on stage. Their work done in rehearsals, it was up to Cathal and Lórcan to make us believe, and that they did exceptionally well.
As an Irishman viewing any production with an Irish theme there is always the fear of the dreaded ‘stage Irish’ acting and bad accents. Eastern Angles’ choice of two Irish actors banished any such fears and the whole production had a very genuine feel to it. Including the inclusion of some very Irish expressions and a sprinkle of Gaelic from Brother Gerard.
This show has one more night at The John Peel Centre before heading out across the region in Eastern Angles’ inimitable way of bringing theatre to the people. The show will take place in village halls, community centres and town halls across the region until May.
Quite apart from the fact that this is an excellent production and deserves to be seen there is another reason why we should all support this and other productions like it. Suffolk County Council’s 100% cut to arts and culture funding from 2025 means that productions such as this are at risk. I implore you to forego the box-sets streamed to your living room by the multinationals and head down to your village hall – nothing screams protest like a full house.
