Bawdy comedy to feature Rex Ryan

By Laura Lyne

A SMASH hit comedy directed by Breda Cashe and featuring Clodagh Mooney Duggan, Stephen Burns, Doireann MacMahon and Rex Ryan is set to head to the Civic Theatre this July.

Wrong Turn at Lungfish is about a blind, terminally ill former college dean and a young, sassy girl that comes to read to him in hospital and reflects on the different backgrounds of these two characters and the cultural clash that ensues between them.

Described as a “intelligent and bawdy” comedy, Wrong Turn at Lungfish will head to the Civic from Monday, July 4 until Saturday, July 9 for what is sure to be a night of many laughs from a classic comedy.

Rex Ryan, who plays Dominic, recently spoke to The Echo about his role in Wrong Turn at Lungfish, and what audiences can expect from the comedy.

Hi Rex! You’re appearing in Wrong Turn at Lungfish as Dominic. Firstly, tell us what the play’s about?

This play is a comedy by Gary Marshall and Lowell Ganz. It’s essentially about an unlikely relationship that forms between a young street girl from New York City and a college Dean who has recently been hospitalised with blindness and an unnamed disease that is causing his health to deteriorate rapidly.

The two writers have a massive list of credits writing on sit coms and television series such as ‘ Happy Days ‘ so it certainly has the quality of a television situational comedy I think and you can see the influences in the structure of it.

Your character, Dominic, has been described as a “man who can get watermelons at knock down prices”. Tell us a bit about him?

Yes he certainly can do that. Thankfully he has other facets that the writers have taken the time to layer him with too.
He’s basically a street guy from New York City, tough upbringing, Mum died when he was six and had father issues all through his life.

He’s got in with the wrong crew and we meet him at a desperate time. I like to think his intentions are honourable underneath his numerous f*** ups though.

What stood out to you about Wrong Turn at Lungfish?

There’s a heart within the story. I also liked the idea of tackling Dominic as I think he requires some work to get to the real, human character as opposed to a cliche of a wise guy New Yorker.

I also enjoy working with the director Breda Cashe, I was familiar and enjoyed Pat Moylan’s projects like Beowolf…and I knew the lead actress well and knew she’d give that role a real life.

Do you enjoy performing in a comedy? How is it different to other genres? How does it challenge you as a performer?

You still come at it from the point of view of trying to create a real character and if the writing is good the laughs should come from the character and not just because they are written jokes.

Saying that, you have to get loose and have fun with a comedy too. Let the audience in.

Are you looking forward to performing for a Tallaght crowd?

I’m very much looking forward to performing in The Civic. I’ve seen a couple of fantastic productions there and I’m looking forward to the reaction to this.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your performance background. Is acting something you’ve always wanted to do?

I always wanted to be an actor but only began studying it seriously when I got in to drama school after first doing business in college.

I studied at The Gaiety school and after that went straight into the theatre.

If theatre is done well it’s magic. If it’s bad it’s torturous. I find that to be true for actor and of course audience.
Thankfully my experiences have mostly been magic so far.

Wrong Turn At Lungfish will be at the Civic Theatre on from July 4 until Saturday July 9, with tickets available now from www.civictheatre.ie or by calling the box office at 4627477.