A visitor to 'Covered'

A particularly appreciative member of the audience at 'Kindly Keep it Covered' was one Brian Quinlan, who had many times played the same part as Kilcullen's own Vivian Clarke in the play, in Britain.



"He was the fellow who originally sent the play over to me," Vivian told the Diary. "He's from Cheltenham, and has been a semi-professional entertainer and actor for many years. He also did a tour as a stand-up comedian."

Brian stayed in Kilcullen last week and Vivian brought him on a tour of the Town Hall Theatre and Heritage Centre.

"I didn't let him see the set, of course, or the programme, until he came to the play on Monday night. But he said that everybody he met was so nice and so good to him. He gave us great, great praise. He took away copies of all the posters and the programme, and everything that had been written about the production so far."

Brian Quinlan also directed many productions in his day, including musicals, drama and farce similar to 'Kindly Keep it Covered'.

"He was very taken with the Town Hall Theatre, and I told him the story of Pat Dunlea and how the place came about. He told me that in his home place, the local drama group has to rent an old Council Hall for their productions, and pay for both rehearsal and production nights."

Vivian also talked his visitor through the various displays and photographs in the Heritage Centre, retelling the local stories and history.

"I showed him the old cinema seat that has been put back into the theatre, beside all the Volvo leather seats, to remind people of what used to be here. He also saw the piece of the old cinema screen, and the projector. He was really fascinated by it all."

Brian Byrne.

[NOTE: The Diary heard this story too late to take a picture of Brian Quinlan. We'll see if we can get one.]