Howie the Rookie

Howie the Rookie stars Tom Taplin and Ed Limb as Howie and the Rookie. The play is directed by Elinore Warr. I joined them for their tech rehearsal in Paradise Vault. The play is two monologues first by Tom and then by Ed, with a simple stage. What was interesting to see was the amount of attention paid by Ellie to the intensity of the red and blue lights which she varied throughout the play. I think there were about 50 different cues, some of which only shifted the intensity a smidget. Anyway, enough about the lights, this play had two strong performances by Tom and Ed.

Meet the Howie Lee and the Rookie Lee, two men with nothing in common except a last name and an ill-fated spiral of events. Celebrated Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe’s 1999 critically acclaimed drama is a two-hander of two halves, taking a nightmarish dive into the darkest depths of human behaviour. Known for his intense, lyrical verse and blistering imagery, O’Rowe litters this visceral tragedy with ruinous violence and surprising comic twists.

Text from Camdram

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Tom Taplin
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Tom Taplin. During one of the boxing scenes I experimented with a longer shutter time to get a bit of movement. Here I was using 1/50s.
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Break hearts and hymens I do. (Ed Limb, in character)
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Scared, cos tonight’s the night, this party. (Ed Limb)
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Knocked sideways, the fuck is that? (Ed Limb)
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I tell him me woes and he helps me. He helps me a way I don’t understand. (Ed Limb)
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Me namesake the name of Lee (Ed Limb and Tom Taplin)
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Tom Taplin
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Tom Taplin
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Tom Taplin
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I got this urge, this urge to yak! (Ed Limb)

 

Cast
The Howie Lee – Tom Taplin
The Rookie Lee – Ed Limb

Production Team
Director – Ellie Warr
Producer – Rebecca Vaa
Publicity Designer – Rob Eager
Rehearsal Photographer – Johannes Hjorth
Performance Photographer – Andrew Eaton

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