''Someone Who'll Watch over Me'' is a play written by

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

dramatist

Frank McGuinness Professor Frank McGuinness (born 1953) is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include '' The Factory Girls'', ''Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'', ''Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' and ''Dolly West's Kitchen'', ...

. The play focuses on the trials and tribulations of an Irishman, an

Englishman The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...

and an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

(Edward, Michael, and Adam) who are kidnapped and held

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

by unseen Arabs in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. As the three men strive for survival they also strive to overcome their personal and

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

differences. Related to this is each individual's own attempt to maintain sanity under the watchful eye of both captors and supposed

comrade The term ''comrade'' (russian: товарищ, tovarisch) generally means 'mate', 'colleague', or 'ally', and derives from the Spanish and Portuguese, term , literally meaning 'chamber mate', from Latin , meaning 'chamber' or 'room'. It may also ...

s. At times the dramatic

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...

reaches a level of Beckettian absurdity, as even the

audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

is unable to draw a distinction between the characters'

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

and humour. We are made witness and accomplice to a

humour Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

based on something apparently ghastly, the loss of rationality.

Productions

The play was first staged in July 1992, at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

br>

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and transferred to the West End

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 ...

, September-October 1992. It was produced on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the Italian Renaissance ...

, opening on 29 May 1992 and closing on 13 June 1993, after 292 performances and 2 previews. Directed by Robin Lefevre, it starred

Stephen Rea Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...

(Edward),

James McDaniel James McDaniel Jr. (born March 25, 1958) is an American stage, film and television actor. He is best known for playing Lt. Arthur Fancy on the television show ''NYPD Blue''. He created the role of Paul in the hit Lincoln Center play '' Six Degr ...

(Adam), and

Alec McCowen Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. Early life McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer ...

(Michael);

Michael York Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television and stage actor. After performing on-stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Ro ...

took the Michael role late in the play's run. It received

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

nominations for Best Play and Best Actor in Play (Stephen Rea); Stephen Rea received the

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

. The show won the 1993

New York Drama Critics' Circle The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...

Award for Best Foreign Play. It was produced at the West End New Ambassador Theatre 16 April - 22 May 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 Jonathan Lee Miller (born 15 November 1972) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He achieved early success for his portrayal of Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson in the dark comedy-drama film ''Trainspotting'' (1996) and as Dade Murphy in ...

(Adam),

Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 24 April 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of three Irish Film & Television Awards and has been nominated for a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award, a ...

(Edward) and

David Threlfall David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In Ap ...

(Michael). ''Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' was presented in January 2009 at the

Carolina Actors Studio Theatre Carolina Actors Studio Theatre (CAST) was an independent non-profit theatre company located at 2424 North Davidson Street in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was founded in 1992 by Charlotte acting instructor Ed Gilweit as an actor's teaching schoo ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. More recently it was produced by the "Square Béal Theatre Company", showing in Virginia and Shercock, Co. Cavan during September and October 2010 and by

Theatre by the Lake Theatre by the Lake is situated on the shores of Derwentwater in the Lake District in Keswick, Cumbria, England. It opened in 1999, replacing the mobile Century Theatre, and was made possible by an Arts Council Lottery Fund Grant. From May to ...

, Keswick, Cumbria from August to November 2011. It was also put on at the Courtyard Theatre in London in July 2010 starring Tom Weston-Jones, Joe Jameson & Alasdair Buchan.http://www.whatsonstage.com/reviews/theatre/london/E8831274268323/Someone+Who%92ll+Watch+Over+Me,+Bristol+Old+Vic+Theatre+School.html In March 2013, on the 20th anniversary of the play's first staging in Ireland, Creaking Door Productions performed the play at The Viking Theatre and The New Theatre. Directed by Niall O'Higgins, the show starre
Art Kearns
(Edward)
Danny Kehoe
(Michael) an
Conor Delaney
(Adam). The show had a very successful run receiving 5 star reviews.

In May/June 2017 it was produced by the Irish Theatre Players in Perth, Western Australia. Directed by Andrew Baker, the show starred Paul Davey (Edward), Manuao TeAotonga (Adam) & Grant Malcolm (Michael). It was extremely well received, with many stating it was the best show the Irish Theatre Players had produced in decades. http://www.ita.org.au/2017/06/someone-wholl-watch-over-me/

References

External links

IBDB listing
* ttp://www.curtainup.com/someonetwhollwatchoverme.html Curtain Up review, London, 21 April 2005 {{Frank McGuinness Plays by Frank McGuinness 1992 plays Broadway plays