Two For A Girl

John Braunschweig

"The ill-fated love affair between a young traveller woman and a married farmer in Co Tipperary in the '40's." So was the description of "Two for a Girl" by Skipalong Theatre.

It's rare that the traveller community is represented in the Arts. St John's Theatre Listowel was packed to capacity on Friday 13th July. Obviously many North Kerry people were interested in this play.

The two actors, Mary Kelly and Noni Stapleton, also wrote the play. Mary Kelly played one character throughout, the young traveller woman Josie Connors, while Noni played several different characters, among them the afore-mentioned married farmer, Josie's grown-up daughter Frances and the farmer's wife. Both women performed brilliantly. So relaxed as to be able to relax the audience, accomplished, confident, relaxed, believable, not at all over-done.

Noni Stapleton's versatility was particularly apparent when acting as the farmer's wife. The contrast between the roughness or nonchalance she showed as the daughter, the farmer, the other traveller women, and the hand-wringing, guilty but self-serving lady was so skilfully but discreetly woven into her tapestry of characters that it was comical. It must be said that the comic effect was due mainly to recognition of ingrained but uncool aspects of oneself, as a buffer woman.

The story of Two for a Girl was clever, simple and good effective theatre that moved and provoked as well as amused the audience. The scenario of the attraction between the settled man and the traveller woman is little explored but, as Noni told me, not an unusual one.

"We consulted with travellers at Pavee Point, a partnership of Irish Travellers and settled people working together to improve the lives of Irish Travellers , on things such as plausibility of story-line, possible outcomes, authentic traveller reactions to events as depicted in play, accent, etc. It was nominated at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2004 for the Jane Snow Award for "Innovation and Bravery in Theatre", which we were absolutely delighted about. We also performed it for the Bewley's Cafe lunchtime performances in October 2004."

David Teevan of Clonmel's Junction Festival and John Breen, writer/director of Alone It Stands, brought it to Ballina, Co Mayo, where it was performed in an old mill with an all-traveller audience. The actors were a little nervous as to how it would go down.

"They loved it," says Noni, "After the performance, a traveller came up to me, put her hand on my shoulder and said " 'Your play made me proud to be a traveller.'"
John Braunschweig, an American visitor who comes to Barrow every summer, was also very impressed with Two for a Girl and said "Now that's a play that would have gone down well with John B."