Writer & Director: Carmel Winters
When you say, “that part could have been written for him/her”, I think that in the case of Stockholm born vocalist, Camilla Griehsel, the role of Lovisa in Carmel Winters play, Cuckoo Time, actually was.
Currently playing in Rex and Migle Ryan’s wonderful Glass Mask Theatre at the Bestseller Cafe on Dawson Street, Winter’s latest work showcases the unlikely coupling of a pair of misfits on the edges of society.
Belting out Peggy Lee’s Is That All There Is, hopelessly inebriated Swedish singer, Lovisa (call me Lou!) wants the customers in the rural Irish bar to “break out the booze and have a ball”. They’re not having any of it, however, and neither is Publican Mac, flawlessly played by Brendan Conroy. Begrudgingly, he pays Lou 50 quid and tells her to “fuck off home”.
But the down on her luck sangerska has been kicked out of her airbnb and Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive won’t butter any parsnips when “she doesn’t have a pot to piss in”. Daughter Alma is “a self-righteous cunt” since she got sober and no amount of “Cuckoo, hello?” or pleading from her drunken mother on the street will persuade her to open the door. The elder’s bellowing rendition of Amy Winehouse’s Rehab beneath Alma’s window seals the deal.
Lou trots off into the night after a dog she has befriended. He leads her towards a small farm by the Atlantic Ocean. Fishing nets, a lifebuoy and other seafaring paraphernalia adorn the walls of a cottage where her “Cuckoo, hello?” surprises Michael Barrett, a confused widower. He has been wandering about searching for his deceased wife, May.
What ensues is an absurd but engaging storyline in which the lonely, world-weary entertainer inserts herself into the home and life of a lonely, dementia-ridden old man. In much the same way as a female cuckoo switches out the eggs of another bird species in their nest with her own, Lou usurps the authority of Barrett’s daughter Anita, over his care, with hers.
We are in very safe hands with these actors. Conroy is superb in the role. His embodiment of Michael, (like his father “and his father before him, only not dead yet”) is replete and utterly convincing. Griehsel’s flamboyantly expressive style and excellent comic timing creates a larger than life persona which contrasts perfectly with Conroy’s restrained but funny, bewildered but introspective denotation of someone struggling with grief and memory loss. The dissimilitudes between the two highlight the improbability of a connection.
And yet connect they do. “Whatever the question, love is the answer”. As is brandy, fags and apple drops. Singing I’m Your Man from her own show Mamasongue – Songs in Mother Tongue, Griehsel as Lou becomes Rhett Butler to Michael’s Scarlett O’Hara. It is an incredibly moving and poignant scene.
After harsh parochial treatment and feeling rejected by their loved ones, the pair decide to transport themselves to a happier place. With the help of magic mushrooms they become fairies, sitting on a bench listening to and identifying birdsong alongside the lapping waves. It is reminiscent of the early summer Swedish tradition of ‘Gokotta’ or ‘Cuckoo Dawn’ where people get up early and go out into nature to hear the first cuckoo call of the day. This might have been a high note on which to end things, although we would not then have enjoyed Griehsel’s spellbinding performance of Me And My Shadow at close of day.
If the plot of Cuckoo Time is a little far-fetched, the show is nonetheless compelling from start to finish. It gives us captivating characters with good and humorous dialogue, fabulous singing and music, a well conceived, fully functional set (Ciara Murnane), impeccable lighting (Bill Woodland) and brilliant costume choices (Migle Ryan). There is also, as always, the added pleasurable option of tapas and wine at the venue.
Cuckoo Time is undoubtedly another great success for writer/director Carmel Winters and for husband and wife producing team, Rex and Migle Ryan of GMT Productions. I would love to see a stage-to-film adaptation of this play. Catch it if you can.
Runs Until 1st Nov 2025.
