DA

performed at Cumbernauld Town Hall, April 1974

DA	Ron Paterson	MOTHER	Betty Naismith
MRS PRYNNE	Rena Haldane	THE YELLOW PERIL	Carol Finlay
MR DRUMM	Randal Philips	OLIVER	Ricky Marshall
CHARLIE THEN	Steven Whinnery	CHARLIE NOW	Harry Glass

A Scots drama group has pulled off a theatrical coup which should make any professional company green with envy...

The Apex Players of Cumbernauld tonight present Hugh Leonard's play "Da" in not only the world amateur premiere, but the British premiere. The professional theatre will have to take second place.

Hugh, internationally famous as a playwright, and best known recently for his "Me Mammy" and "Lazy Acre" television series, granted the Cumbernauld group a special licence to present "Da". They have previously staged two of his plays, "The Poker Session" and "The Patrick Pearse Motel" and he was very pleased with the association.

So much so, that he said he has made tonight's Apex production an exception. No other amateur company can perform "Da" until it is released in 1975.

Not bad going, as Joe Simons agreed. Joe has been associated with Apex for four of its eight years, and is directing, producing, and lighting the play.

The play runs until Thursday in Cumbernauld, and Joe is pleased with his principals, Ron Paterson, Harry Glass and 17-year-old Steven Whinnery. The Apex Players, who rehearse in a local school with chairs as all-purpose props, will be running "Da" at the same time as the Broadway production.

The Apex Players, of Cumbernauld, are to present the British premiere and the world amateur premiere of Hugh Leonard's two-act play, "Da" - described by many critics as the author's best work.

The production is by Joe Simons. In the title role is Ron Paterson, who has recently completed work on an episode of "Sutherland's Law" for BBC TV.

Others in the cast include Harry Glass and Steven Whinnery, who has recently been accepted as a student with the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

What a pity Hugh Leonard wasn't able to be present at Cumbernauld's Town Hall on Monday night to see the World Amateur Premiere of his brilliant new comedy "Da". If he had he would have quickly realised that his magnificent gesture of granting the exclusive rights of the first amateur showing to the Apex Players of Cumbernauld would be repaid in no small measure by a talent-laden octet who to my mind served up one of the finest performances I have seen on the amateur stage.

Judging by the comments I overheard from the audience as they were leaving the hall, the Apex Players will have gone a long way to dispel rumours that the Scottish theatre is on the decline.

This latest offering from the prolific pen of Mr Leonard was not the easiest of vehicles for an amateur society to tackle especially as the very tricky plot is unfolded by a series of flashbacks cleverly augmented by split-second timing of segmented lighting, but the entire cast of this New Town company surmounted these obstacles effortlessly to convey the author's intention as clinically as one could hope.

As to the play itself, this was an autobiographical or should I say a biographical resume of Hugh Leonard's early life and the enigmatic relationship that existed between himself and "Da", his father. The play opens as "Da" has just been buried and the rest of the story is retold in ephemeral cameos of the family's experiences, dominated by a supremely independent father who shuns any form of affection even when proffered by his son Charlie now a celebrated writer.

Hugh Leonard has the unique talent of allowing his stories to stray to varying tangents and still being able to say something relevant in the process.

Before I come to the individual performances let me single out one name - Joe Simons. The man who had the overall responsibility of supervising the herculean task of set design, a lighting schedule not to mention the singular job of directing the play. John Ruskin once said: "Be sure you go to the author to get his meaning." But I'm sure Mr Simons didn't make the long journey south to gain any such guidance as it was self-evident that he had his own idea of how the play should be presented and his well-read interpretation of a very funny script certainly wouldn't have displeased the playwright himself. Joe Simons doesn't only survive the rigorous exercise of directing but actually seems to thrive on it.

In the title role of "Da" Ron Paterson turns in yet another memorable performance and this must surely stamp him as a character actor of unique talent, a talent still yet untapped.

As his son Charlie, Harry Glass gives a brilliant performance and any budding aspirants of the stage would benefit from seeing how Harry carefully avoids the worst two sins in the theatre that of masking and inaudibility.

Betty Naismith was an excellent choice as the mother, her accent was authentically Irish and her performance was all the more admirable considering the lightweight role he author had woven into the script for the distaff side of the family.

The part of young Charlie was played by Steven Whinnery and if I ever say a star in the making this was it. Keep it up Steven you get better every time I see you. You certainly deserved your acceptance by the Drama College.

In the minor roles Ricky Marshall as Oliver was extremely funny and was a perfect foil for young Charlie and seems to particularly excel in this type of "Gossoon" like character.

Randal Phillips as Mr Drumm is a new member of the Apex Players but on this showing he will be around for a long time to come and he can feel very satisified with this performance.

As the local good time girl "Yellow Peril" Carol Finlay's superb underplaying of a small but difficult role gave all the more vent to the ardent advances of young Charlie and company.

Last but not least Mrs Prynne as played by Rena Haldane had given me particular pleasure in a very small part and her adroit use of the many props she had to handle reflected how expertly she had studied the minor role.

After tonight's performance it is apparent that the Apex Players have come of age and are nobody's poor relation for there is now a professional look about their work that wasn't evident two years ago.

Lest you think I have lapsed into a state of euphoria about the play let me quickly point out several things that distracted me from time to time but I made no note of these as I'm sure they didn't go unnoticed by the producer and after all as Robert Benchley once said, "That's what first nights are all about."