Waiting for Elvis: Rathfarnham theatre group return to Pearse museum

The Rathfarnham Players are excited to return to Pearse Museum and perform Eileen Gibbons’ play ‘Waiting for Elvis’ this time.

Helen Cullen, who has been involved in amateur drama for years through acting and performing, will be directing this production in her debut.

This feel-good, heartwarming play tells the story of two marginalized women, one of whom is homeless, Lisa Marie, and the other is a younger, more naive Elizabeth.

They meet each other one day on a park bench, where Lisa Marie sits waiting for Elvis Presley, whom she believes never died.

Unaffected by each other’s eccentricities, the unlikely pair develops a friendship, with a moral lesson to not judge serving as an “undercurrent” to the story.

Helen is currently taking a course at Maynooth University in Directing for Theatre, which requires students to direct plays that are longer than 30 minutes.

Two of the members of Rathfarnham Theatre Group offered to help her with this project.

This particular play was selected as one of the actresses had previously seen it back in 2013 and “really loved it.”

Helen read the script she sent in, and she found it to be impressive.

The original plan was to merely record the two-hander and send it to the university for Helen’s course.

However, the group enjoyed rehearsing it so much that they decided to give performances to be viewed by the public.

They began rehearsing it towards the end of January; since then, there have been “several cups of tea made” while they were interrogating the script.

When asked whether there have been any challenges during production, Helen responds by stating that it has been a “very enjoyable experience,” with the only real challenge being that she was worried about doing “justice” to Eileen Gibbons’ script.

Future plans for Rathfarnham Theatre Group include performing a new play in the main stage of the Miller Theatre from November 12 to 16; they are currently in the process of selecting a play for that.

They will host auditions for it before taking a break for the summer, and rehearsals will begin once they come back.

Helen would like to thank Eileen Gibbons for her “absolutely incredible” script and for giving her permission to direct and adapt it for the stage; Rathfarnham Theatre Group for their support; her two “fantastic” actresses that she has “really enjoyed” working with; and the “unsung heroes” working behind the scenes, such as Noel Young and Deirdre Nally.

‘Waiting for Elvis’ will be performing in the Pearse Museum from May 11–12; tickets are on sale now, so don’t miss out!