SMALL PRINT:MONSOON-LIKE downpours on a Monday in early September don't lend themselves to getting bums on seats. In the Gaiety's 1,145-seat auditorium that night, only a fraction of a full capacity-sized audience braved the rain for a performance of Boss Grady's Boys. Mondays to Wednesdays are traditionally slow nights at the theatre, but this was unfortunately more like going to the 10am showing in a vintage cinema.
Is it the lull before the storm of the oncoming Fringe Festival? A spokesperson at the Gaiety explained that, as well as Monday nights being quieter, the play could be described as a niche interest in terms of genre and market, unlike something like Riverdance which, during the summer months, can also pull walk-ins off the street. In this case, the rain can actual be your friend – except when it comes down in such quantities that you need webbed feet to consider venturing outdoors.
Nevertheless, the actors tread the boards with professionalism. The audience, converged toward the front of the house, attended with respect and showed little interest in quitting the auditorium for drinks and smokes during the interval. Like a half-time show, excerpts of Duck Soup (a nod to mentions of the Marx Brothers, among other film references in the play) were screened to a most appreciative public. When the reel finished to make way for the second act, it got a generous and enthusiastic round of applause. The evergreen Groucho and Co are clearly still popular. IFI take note.
