Fasten your seat belts: Boeing Boeing lands at the Moat

The Moat Club returns to the stage this summer with the hilarious farce Boeing Boeing by Marc Camoletti.

Directed by Conor O’Connell and starring Aidan Cooney, Clodagh Donnelly, Louise Donnelly, Lisa Moorhead, Aaron O’Connor and Eilish Rafferty, the play runs from Monday June 19 to Friday 23 at 8pm nightly.

A hit comedy similar in vein to Shakespeare’s comedies of merry misadventures and mistaken identities, Boeing Boeing tells of the exploits of French bachelor Bernard [Aidan Cooney] and his lovely finacées, all flight attendants for the world’s top airlines: Gloria, who is American [Lisa Moorhead], Gabriella, who is Italian [Clodagh Donnelly] and Gretchen, German [Eilish Rafferty].

In the past, Bernard has been able to juggle these women with the help of detailed airline timetables and his trusted housekeeper Bertha [Louise Donnelly].

When super-fast jets suddenly shorten flight times, all the women end up at his apartment on the same day. How can Bernard and his old friend Robert, played by Aaron O’Connor, who is visiting from the provinces, keep the women from learning the truth? As Bertha crumbles under the pressure, will the lying Lothario be able to keep up his complex charade?

Director Conor O’Connell, who directed last June’s hit The Last Days of Judas Iscariot for the club, told us what the rehearsal process was like and what can we expect when the curtain rises.

“It has been such a joy to work on this piece as laughter truly is the best medicine.

“Directing a farce is a difficult challenge to take on as so much relies on pace, timing and the physicality of the actors and this is something that the actors are giving in spades at every single rehearsal. It has been an incredible journey with the cast of six, who are giving everything they can in rehearsals.”

The cast is supported by a strong production team, led by Sam Coventry, with Conor Sweeney designing lighting and sound and Doreen Ryan creating a colourful palette of 1960s costuming, which is so integral to the play.

Conor has designed the set for the production.

“I love to design my own sets for the plays I direct,” he said, “and I hope that when the curtains open each night our set will bring the audience back in time to the 1960s, when airline travel was the height of glamour. and that our committed and talented cast delivers an evening of entertainment and laughter that will be remembered.”

Boeing Boeing plays in the Moat Theatre from Monday 19 to Friday 23 at 8pm nightly.

Tickets are €15 (concessions €12). Book online at www.moattheatre.com or contact the box office on (045) 883030.