Past Productions - Last Respects

Find out more about some of our previous tours by clicking on the links to the right.

Macbeth

Last Respects

The Lover & Dumb Waiter

The Importance of Being Earnest

"Strong and stunning performances from this highly talented group of actors."

Halifax Evening Courier, Nov 2002

"Like Rita Sue and Bob Too, Last Respects aspires to show the gritty side of Northern Life."

Bradford Telegraph and Argus, Nov 2002

Last Respects by Kevin O'Hara
 

When Jimmy Branigan drops dead on the way home from the chippy he leaves behind him a trail of deceit, betrayal and incest, which wreaks havoc upon his family and friends.

Hilarious in parts and moving in others, the play opens with the bringing home of Jimmy’s body for the wake. From there on, the characters are left to deal with the revelations of his philandering ways and the carnage that is strewn about their lives as a consequence.

As the plot unfolds, the characters are forced to acknowledge their own betrayal and self-deceit: and the uncomfortable existence they now inhabit coerces them into a painful re-examination of self.

Director’s Notes

"There’s not a person on this planet living the truth. If we’re not conning each other we’re conning ourselves. Why Should I be any different?”

Last Respects shows humour where propriety says there really shouldn't be any. It's full of that quirky human characteristic of using laughter to cope with trauma. And this is a play that is overflowing with trauma. Jimmy Branigan’s coffin is very much like Pandora’s box; once it’s opened all hell lets loose!

The story is pure fiction, but within it are episodes that no doubt have happened to many people. This realism is what makes the play touching. It's also what gives it bite. Life isn't easy and sometimes we make ourselves uncomfortable beds to lie in. In the case of Last Respects it quickly becomes evident that some of the characters have been lying in too many beds with too many people. How they and the people in their lives deal with it is what makes the play so gripping. You sympathise with them, but sometimes you want to get up on stage and give them a good slap.