Ireland


The Caffick-On-Suir
Amateur Operatic Society
presented the Irish premiere of Chess at the Strand Theatre
from 27 February - 5 March, 1994.

[Note: The material at hand is nearly illegible,
so dates and names are not guaranteed to be correct.]

Cast
Florence Vassy............Irene Malone
Anatoly Sergievsky.......Liam Butler
The Arbiter...............Jerome Doherty
Freddie Trumper.............Richard ? [Nugent?]
Svetlana Sergievsky........Mala Baggett
Molokov (K.G.B.).............John Stuart
Walter de Courcey (C.I.A.)...P? Sherman
Mayor of Merano..............Michael Emerson
Leonid Viigand...............Eugene O'Keefe

Choreographer Patricia Woods
Chorus Master Michael Ingoldsby
Musical Director Danny Carroll
Director Dick Meany

This is a very interesting production in that it is the full London version, done on a small stage with a small cast and no sets. For an amateur group, the performances are excellent. There are a few interesting touches, including a mini-tableau of the Hungarian Revolution used during Freddie and Florence's "You Wanna Lose Your Only Friend" confrontation, when he sings "1956 - Budapest is rising..." Remarkably, they have a great orchestra. It might be recorded, except the tempi of some songs are changed, which makes it unlikely. The show comes off quite well despite the lack of extensive costuming, space and sets.

The only scenery, per se, are three door-sized drops which transform from chess squares to arched windows to Bangkok neon to simple walls. A few chairs and tables are the only set pieces and yet, the production manages to take us from Merano to Bangkok, from hotel room to chess arena.

Anyone with photos and any further information about this production is encouraged to contact the author of the website.