Des Keogh Stars in The Quare Land At Roscommon Arts Centre
By: Gabrielle Sierra Mar. 29, 2011
Legendary and very versatile actor Des Keogh was born in 1935 in Birr. He was trained as a solicitor before entering the theatre in his 20s. He has toured widely in a one-man show as a love-hungry farmer, in an adaptation by Keogh from a work by the Irish playwright John B. Keane and comes to Roscommon Arts Centre with his most recent production 'The Quare Land' on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th April. He has also appeared in a one-man show of 'Confessions of an Irish Publican' by JB Keane. Keogh has worked with major Irish theatre companies, and also in the London theatre. His film credits include Ryan's Daughter, Ulysses, and Flight of the Doves.
For approximately 35 years, Mr. Keogh hosted a weekly radio program for RTE's Light Programme called Music for Middlebrows. It was also the name of book on the subject he wrote in 1998. Des has had a long theatrical relationship with the actress Rosaleen Linehan. Their two-person comedy shows have been among the biggest box-office attractions in Ireland since the Seventies. He has been twice nominated for the Best Actor Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His handprints are embedded in the pavement outside the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin and in the year 2000, he and Rosaleen Linehan received the Lord Mayor's Award for their ‘outstanding contribution to the cultural life of the city of Dublin'.
'The Quare Land' by Cavan playwright John McManus received its world premiere in Galway last July as part of the Galway Arts Festival and sold out a two week run. Following its success in the west, the play now comes to Roscommon Arts Centre for 2 performances only. The lead role played by Des Keogh centres on the character Hugh Pugh, who is about to take his first bath in four years. His bathing is disturbed by Rob McNulty (Frank O'Sullivan), a developer wanting to buy a field. Hugh conducts negotiations from his bathtub and is reluctant to sell while McNulty pulls out all the stops to complete the sale. The quick fire banter between the two characters escalates into an epic finale as both try to reason each other into submission. For a chance to see a 'savagely hilarious' play and a great actor book your tickets through Roscommon Arts Centre's box office on 090 6625824.
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