Irish playwright Bernard Farrell’s ‘Stella by Starlight’ was the most recent play to be performed at the Ensemble theatre.
Farrell’s play was set in the present in Dermot and Stella’s isolated farmhouse in Wicklow Hills, well beyond the outer suburbs of Dublin, Ireland. Dermot, the main character, is obsessed with making sure to take some good photos of a comet which is due to crash into the planet Jupiter soon. He has been asked to take the pictures for a group of amateur internet astronomers. Meanwhile his wife Stella has arranged a drinks and comet crash party and invited her daughter Tara and her boyfriend Tommy whose nickname may be ‘Needles’, and her old friend Paul with his wife Geraldine. As the comet crashes in a heap into the surface of Jupiter so does Dermot’s world, along with his model of astrology, his car and his dog. Only Stella can save the day!
I have to say, straight off, that ‘Stella by Starlight’ was not my ‘cup of tea’ as a play. The play did not hold together that well dramatically, with the feeling that there wasn’t that much at stake for its characters. Furthermore, I found the plot too predictable.
The main character Dermot did not sit well with me- he just wasn’t likeable. We, the audience, see him being cruel to his wife, Stella. For instance, he insists on Stella wearing contact lenses just because they make her look younger, when they hurt and give her headaches. Dermot also came across as a bit of a status obsessed social climber, not a very appealing feature!
Andrew Doyle’s production did do good good service to the play. His direction was crisp and the cast all held their Irish accents well. Mark Thompson’s set worked well with giant star maps streaming across the small observatory/living room.
A strong cast worked well with the play. Paul Gleeson played Dermot, Sarah Chadwick his wife Stella, Kellie Clarke played Tara, Kate Raison was Geraldine, Mark Owen-Taylor played Paul and Leigh Scully was Tommy.
A final note. Yes, in case you were wondering, true to the title, the classic song ‘Stella by Starlight’ was given a rendition at the play’s end.