Lights… curtain… Ronan’s directorial debut

Ronan O’Shea: making his debut as director of Bonnie & Clyde in the Granary Theatre, Cork

A CREATIVE Killarney student with a long-held passion for music, drama and film has just made a very successful debut as a director.

Ronan O’Shea, from Pallas, Beaufort, is spearheading a super production of the hit musical Bonnie & Clyde which is running for four nights in the Granary Theatre in Cork and it is completely sold out.

Ronan (20) is a second year Film and Screen Media Studies student in UCC and the production is the work of the college musical society, complete with a 22-strong cast, a seven-piece band and a backstage crew of seven. They are all UCC students with the exception of musical director Jimmy Brockie from the Cork School of Music.

The ambitious young Killarney director has been working on the show for over two months and all those involved are devoting their time and effort on a voluntary basis as part of the learning process.

Ronan, the son of Francis and Mary Frances O’Shea, said the two-and-a-half hour production is packed with great song and dance ­­– with choreography by Michaela Gleeson – and it is a lively story that charts the life and times of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the ill-fated lovers and outlaws who achieved folk hero status during the Great Depression.

It is based on a book by Ivan Menchell with lyrics by Don Black and music by Frank Wildhorn.

Understandably approaching the project with a certain element of apprehension, given that it is his directorial debut, Ronan said he is thoroughly enjoying the experience and everybody involved is delighted that it is a complete sell-out.

“It’s a great experience for us all and it really gives us an opportunity to get stuck in. It is from initiatives like this that we learn and it has been fantastic,” said Ronan whose role involves script supervision, cast preparation, sound, lighting and everything that happens on stage and behind the scenes.

There was a great reaction to the production on opening night and the students are looking forward to presenting their take on a great musical story right through until Saturday when the final curtain will come down.

Ronan, a former pupil of Presentation Secondary School, Milltown, is no stranger to the stage having joined Killarney Musical Society in 2010 and he has been involved in five of the local productions since then.

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