Irish Theatre in British Columbia - Some Great Memories, Along With Moments of Joy, Anguish and Frustration

By MAURA McCAY

VANCOUVER - Pat Warren was only 16-years of age when he first met his future wife on his way home from a prayer novena in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin. Pat said this was considered a great way to meet the girls at the time.

PAT WARREN the former president of Stage Eireann remembers The Emerald Players Drama Group and the history of Irish amateur theatre in British Columbia. He is shown above with his wife Brenda in 1960 as they perform in a production of Shadow in the Glen by Irish playwright John Millington Synge.

Brenda was a lively 13-year old and they hit it off from the start. As they walked along with a group of friends, they stopped in a field and took a photograph of the two of them together.

When I visited Pat recently at his home in Langley, he showed me that old photograph of two young sweethearts, who would eventually share a lifelong journey together, filled with hopes and dreams on that summer day in Dun Laoghaire.

When Brenda's older brother, who was home visiting from England saw the photo, he threatened trouble if Pat ever came near his sister again. So that put an end to the romance for a few years, but they eventually reunited and became engaged to be married.

In 1956 the young couple immigrated together to Canada and they were married in Vancouver. Pat was 23 and Brenda was 20, and suddenly so far from home. Pat said, "I was never Irish in Ireland. We only learned to become Irish when we came out here."

It was around that time that a new club was formed called The Emerald Players, the Lower Mainland's first amateur Irish dramatic society, which would ultimately evolve to become Stage Eireann.

While it was sometimes a very rocky road, some life-long friendships were forged over the years among the players, and there were many moments of joy, frustration and anguish shared by the group.

Leo and Paddy Byrne, two brothers, started things off. Many others contributed their time and effort in those early years. Among them, John and Eileen Donohoe, Susan Hennessy and later on Babs and John McConville, and Tom and Betty Byrne. Pat and Brenda were among those early members and they were soon joined by Sean and Anne Byrne, Marie and Christy Byrne and Shirlee Clarke.

Not having much experience in theatre, the group decided to join the Burnaby Little Theatre Group to learn their craft. After about three years studying acting, staging, lighting and costume design, they were finally confident enough to start their own group.

PAT WARREN and Maura McCay of The Celtic Connection.

So in July 1959 The Emerald Players was formed, and Juno and the Paycock by Irish playwright Sean O'Casey was their first production. Pat said, "After months of rehearsal, set building, costumes and all the other details, opening night finally arrived. Our anxieties were all alleviated when the production was accorded great accolades from audience and critics alike."

Special mention was given to Babs McConville as Juno, Leo Byrne as Captain Boyle, and Christy Byrne as Joxer Daly. "We had great fun in those early days," said Pat. "Following the success of this early play, things started moving very quickly and the Emerald Players entered their first drama festival in 1961."

He said, "much to our surprise and delight, our production of another Sean O'Casey play A Pound on Demand won the bronze shield. A special award was also presented for the excellent comedy team work of Tom and Christy Byrne as two hapless workers trying to withdraw a pound from their account in an Irish post office."

It was during this period that Pat was asked to step forward and take over as president of The Emerald Players and he said, "Finally, I took it over and it was a real challenge to say the least.

"I had noticed during meetings that we had a lot of problems with people interrupting and arguing among themselves. I began to learn about Roberts Rules of Order and I drew up a list of items to discuss at each meeting."

The group was soaring during the 1962/63 theatre season and everyone was very busy. They produced another classic O'Casey play The Plough and the Stars and then Mungo's Mansions by Walter Macken.

THE 1962 Emerald Players cast of Home is the Hero by Walter Maken. Babs McConville, Sally Butler, Betty Byrne, Margaret Forbes, Tom Byrne, and Brenda Warren.

There are many stories from this period, including the night the scenery fell down in Sir Charles Tupper School right in the middle of a show. Pat said, "It was like something out of a Marx Brothers movie."

In 1963 the group produced The Moon Shines on Kylemanoe and they won the top awards at the Vancouver theatre festival. The next step was to travel to Penticton to attend the Inter-Provincial Championships.

There was a lot of discussion regarding transportation to the event and finally a bus was hired to travel up with a full cast of 40 people. There were six people over 65 and a number of children and Pat said, "I can't remember where it was, Hope or somewhere, and the bus broke down."

Eventually, the group arrived and to their absolute amazement they walked away with the top award at the event. "I was very happy about the outcome," said Pat, "but it was a lot of hard work, and hard work paid off despite all the ups and downs."

Pat said, "One of the things I learned personally, was that if people would just go with their own strengths and not try to upset the apple cart, it could all work. Sometimes people wanted to dictate policy, and it wasn't really their strength.

"Some people are better at organizing and others are better at acting and if people can just learn to develop their own strengths, things work much better. I learnt that lesson as a young man and I never forgot it.

"Following our return from Penticton, we had put about three years into the group and I had three kids at the time, so we finally said 'that's enough, we've had enough of that'.

"Unfortunately the group got into trouble because some committee people, while holding open auditions, were casting the plays prior to the auditions. Because we had been on the committee some of the members came to us to complain and while we did object, nothing changed. "In the end quite a lot of people left The Emerald Players and formed another group called Stage Erin. That was sad because it wasn't really necessary to do that but it was because of problems with personalities again. The new group put on a few variety show nights and then they put on a show at the Queen Elizabeth Playhouse and it wasn't very well received. Of course, they spent quite a lot of money putting this play on, so there was big loss.

"Finally, they decided we had to take over The Emerald Players to stop it from going under. So again we were back on the committee and again we put plays on at the festival and once again we won the festival that year.

PAT WARREN

"It was obvious that some of us had the strength to organize it, while others who thought they had the strength to organize it just didn't. They were great actors but not good administrators.

"So the group got back together again and we did some great plays, but one of the problems we had was box office. We didn't get the support of the Irish community. Looking back on it, I realize that it was a mistake to expect that but when we didn't get the support, a lot of us became a bit disillusioned."

In 1963 the Metro Theatre Co-Operative Society was formed and all non-professional groups joined in a co-op style venture. Pat said, "It seemed like a great idea at the start but slowly the Metro Society started swallowing up all the amateur groups in the Vancouver area."

During this period, The Emerald Players produced many good shows but the co-op style took away some of the excitement from the group. Pat said, "By this time, life had put more demands on our regular members and slowly the group known as the Emerald Players faded."

Then in 1977 the group reformed and produced a play called Home is the Hero. The play was a huge success, so they decided to start a club again under the new name of Stage Eireann to distinguish it from the earlier group. Most of the original Emerald Players joined the new club and another run of successful plays was undertaken.

Pat said that while Stage Eireann produced some top calibre plays and went on to win numerous awards, there was an enormous time commitment involved in each production and the lack of support from the core Irish community was disheartening.

THE 1979 production of Country Boy at the Metro Theatre with Patricia Warren and John Carr onstage

Pat said, "I recognize now that it was a mistake to expect that support. We assumed that if people were Irish they would want to see an Irish play. The other mistake we made was not making a connection with the people. We didn't have anyone introduce the plot to the audience.

"For instance if we did a Sean O'Casey play set in Dublin, we assumed people would understand the period. We didn't explain the background to those people in our audience who were not Irish.

"While this is only my opinion, and I know some of the other members would have objected to us doing that, I believe it was a mistake not to establish that connection. I always remember Alister Cooke of Masterpiece Theatre and how he would sit back and explain the context of each production and how informative this was for the audience." "It was a great experience and a lot of people put a lot of work into both groups, but I think people just got tired. No doubt, there were a few personality differences, but that is common in all societies, it's common in families, and it's common in life. I have often heard it said, 'solve the problems of the family, solve the problems of the world'.

"In the end, it was just overwhelming how much time it would take to do each show. Sometimes you would do 10 weeks of rehearsals and then four nights a week during the run. That's a lot of time commitment when you have a young family."

Stage Eireann produced some great shows such as Liffey Lane, The Plough and the Stars, The Country Boy, The Devil Comes from Dublin, and The Year of the Hiker.

In 1982, Stage Eireann moved to the James Cowan Theatre in Burnaby and found a new audience from Burnaby, Surrey, Port Coquitlam and the suburban areas. Some of the outstanding plays produced there were Many Young Men of Twenty; The Playboy the Western World; The Patrick Pearse Motel; Remembrance; Sive; Philadelphia Here I Come; and The Chastitute.

BRENDA WARREN

In 1990, Stage Eireann moved back to Vancouver and began producing plays at the Vancouver Little Theatre on Main Street. Many successful plays were produced there, including Da by Hugh Leonard, The Faith Healer by Brian Friel, and Big Maggie by John B. Keane.

One of biggest disappointments of those years, said Pat, were the opportunities lost by the group to acquire their own premises. He said, "We came so close to getting one on several occasions. We had a chance to buy the Cambrian Hall one time but that fell through. It was frustrating not to have a home base which was so important."

In closing, while Pat expressed hope that the current undertaking to establish an Irish Cultural Centre in Langley is a success, he questioned whether the time for such a facility may have passed.

Then he said, "Having said that, I think the people involved with the Celtic Heritage Society are good business people and if they can put this together, then more power to them."

"In the early days a lot of the Irish did congregate at St. Patrick's Church in Vancouver but I don't think the young people of today are that interested in gathering in communities the way we did in the past. Times have changed and I don't think this is a situation which is unique to the Irish. If you look at a lot of other ethnic groups, many are also dealing with the same issues.

"I agree that it's important to have a place to archive your history but I'm not sure a multi-million dollar building is the place to start. It doesn't need to be a big undertaking. I remember the place down on Prior Street and, while many would question the location, I think it was a mistake to let it go.

"So much has changed over the years, but I think The Celtic Connection is now the backbone of it all. The name says it all and without the newspaper there is no connection. I've watched the paper grow over these years and it's unbelieve how much people enjoy reading it.

"The paper has given support to all the various groups...without question. It just goes to show how much just a few people working together can do. If just a few people can produce a fantastic paper like The Celtic Connection, why is it that with all the resources of the whole Irish community over the years we cannot pull together.

"I want to take this opportunity to ask that question of the community. Would someone please tell us what is wrong with the Irish community. We all have our feelings about it and while we may have our disagreements, this is something which concerns us all.

"Over the years I've heard many people say that what keeps us apart is where you came from in Ireland. It was often said that it's the Dubs who run the drama club and the culchies who run the sporting club. I have to ask, what difference does it make who is running any society, we're all from the same place.

"Maybe we should have a discussion to question how we really want to preserve our history...what do we really need in the way of a community building. But, without a community link, such as The Celtic Connection, we won't get anywhere with it.

"A TASTE OF IRELAND" was a very popular Stage Eireann fundraising event on St. Patrick's Day for a number of years in the 1990s. Pat Warren is shown onstage here as the master of ceremonies, while Catherine Brennan and Bernie Percy draw numbers for door prize winners.

"The newspaper shows how it can be done because people are reading it, people are writing in, and people expressing their ideas, and they're all part of the community. That's what makes the newspaper so successful."

Flat 3 - 40 Trumlands Road, St. Marychurch, Torquay, Devon

25 June 1963

Mr. Patrick Warren,
President, Emerald Players,
3225 East 24th Avenue,
Vancouver, 12,
Canada.

Dear Mr. Warren,
Thank you for your letter and the press clippings which were very interesting. I am glad you did so well with the little comedy and that you won a trophy in the festival, though these trophies don't count for much, for worthiness isn't measured by stars, orders, medals, ribbons or trophies.

It is very sad that we Irish have to scatter ourselves all over the world to find some security and a little peace and that the simple laughing Moon Shines on Kylemanoe should be mocked and jeered in Dublin and welcomed, ay, and applauded in a busy corner of Canada.

Ireland seems now to be like unto a half_spent guttering candle. The young march the roads to the coast, seeking the nearer ship to carry them out of the land. Once it was England drove them into exile in ones and twos, now the Irish exile themselves in whole communities.

Away from the mountains of mourning. Away from the scanty life fought for around lake, in meadow and field. Away from them all to where there men and women at work, and where there the air is fresher and easier to breathe.

Well, my best wishes to all your comrades and to you.

Yours sincerely,
Sean O' Casey

Great Supporters of the Drama Clubs Over the Years
Over the years some wonderful people were involved in working to promote Irish culture through the theatrical arts. While there is always a danger when you mention names that there will be some people missed, and for that we apologize, some of those people who were a part of the Emerald Players or Stage Eireann, included: Tony and Ethel Pollock; Babs and John McConville; Bill Forbes; Susan Hennessy; Bernie Percy; Amy and Mick Lynch; Bob and Lorraine Murphy; Valerie Condon; Harry and Vivienne Gentles; Jim and Mavourneen Ryan; Sean and Anne Byrne; Tom Byrne; Eileen Kelly; Cecil and Pam Glass; Veronica Stabler; Jack and Pauline Stynes; Catherine Brennan; Gerry Floyd; Turlough Brennan; Pearse Ward; Jim and Marie Brady; Lance and Joan Walters; Alex and May Pollock; Brian and Betty Harrison; Eileen Donohoe; Tom O'Sullivan; Josie Wall; Carol May; John and Ann Carr; Marie (Byrne) Morris; and Brenda and Pat Warren.

So many people were also such a large part of supporting the group. Among the new generation are Kieron Byrne; Betty (Jenkins) Tinnuci; Fiona Byrne; Patricia (Warren) Burke; Brenda Harrison; Christine (Byrne) Ralfs; Kelli, Maeve and Siobhan Glass; Frank McConville; and Stephen Warren.

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