Playwright McManus forges quality farce

The team that scored huge hits with The Quare Land and Danger Money have combined for a new comedy that plays on the Cavan' quest for footballing glory. 

The Cavan Curse, a farce penned by John McManus and starring Seamus O'Rourke and Fiona Fitzpatrick, adopts the famous Mayo curse for its plot. Legend has it an elderly woman or a priest – depending on which version of the tale you believe - was outraged that the team, celebrating the All Ireland victory of 1951 didn't pay due respect when they encountered a funeral. The woman/priest vowed that they would never win the All Ireland again while any members of the existing team remained alive.
“Cavan hasn't won since '52,” explains John, a Templeport and Cavan football fan. “So my idea was that the same old woman that cursed Mayo met the Cavan team the following year and cursed them.
“Cavan are in the 2017 final against Kerry and the last surviving member of the team is determined to see his grandson win an All Ireland medal the same as he did. He knows the can't win if the curse is real and he's still alive – so he wants to,” John pauses for thought, “well, kill himself before the end of the match, to give them a chance to win.”
Against that motivation, the character, Rua Smith an elderly blacksmith played by Seamus, is a strict Catholic and is fearful his drastic plan might result in an eternity spent in Limbo.
“He's in a bit of  a predicament,” John correctly notes.
He enlists the help of his grandson's wife, Sarah from Ballina, played by Fiona, with whom he's watching the drama in Croke Park unfold on the television in his blacksmith's forge.
“Sarah has her own reasons for wanting her grandfather in law bumped off – using football as a ruse,” says John.
The interplay between Fiona and Seamus is like a “tennis match”, according to John.
“Fiona is a really brilliant match for Seamus, so it's really enjoyable watching the two of them sparring with each other.
He describes the set – a working forge designed and built by Noel Nash and Sinead O'Reilly - as “a third character”.
The show starts with Amhrán na bhFiann and lasts for the duration of the match in real time with segments of commentary. However, John stresses that the farce has plenty to offer those who would have little or no interest in Gaelic football.
“People have said to me, when I've told them about the play – 'Oh we're not really into football'. It's not really about football – the football is the hinge around which the motivation of the characters is built. If you like football, that's grand too – only football fans would get certain jokes, but ninety-five per cent of the play is like any other plays, with it's own story and plot.”
Given the John and Seamus' track record in previous collaborations, you can be guaranteed a night of laughs.
“You're into sort of farcical territory here, while also remaining fairly realistic. But football fans are farcical by nature anyway – a lot of the time. We get obsessed about something that really doesn't matter very much. It's back to the Quare Land sort of heightened dialogue and humour.”

CURSED FIXTURES

Catch Seamus and Fiona in the Cavan Curse at the following:

• Saturday, March 4 Arva, 8.30pm Tel: 086 2775880
• Friday, April 7 Abbeylara, 8.30pm Tel: 086 8848736
• Saturday, April 1 Newgrange Hotel, Navan 8.30pm Tel: 046 9074 100
• Friday, April 14 Mullahoran, Community Centre 8.30pm Tel: 087 851 5262