A DOWNPATRICK actor has landed a role in his dream play at his bucket list venue five years after his first unsuccessful bid for the part.
Shaun Blaney lost out to a lead role in Stones in His Pockets back then, but he’s finally clinched it, at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, because playwright Marie Jones had seen his original audition.
Now the award-winning actor – and star of a one man show – from the Vianstown Road can’t believe his fortune as he settles in for a run of the iconic tragicomedy.
In the play’s 25th anniversary return to the Lyric, Stones in His Pockets 2022 features an accomplished cast – and even cameo appearances from Northern Ireland’s most celebrated stars.
Speaking to the Down Recorder on Friday, Shaun was having the day off from rehearsals following a very successful press launch of the 25-year-old play which has been performed in 38 languages around the world.
Shaun takes to the stage as character Jake Quinn, one of a lead duo, alongside Charlie Conlon, portrayed by actor Gerard McCabe.
Set in rural Ireland, Stones in His Pockets follows the inhabitants of a small village whose lives are upended when many of them become extras in a Hollywood film.
Told through the eyes of extras Charlie and Jake, the story pivots on the suicide of a local teenager who drowns himself – weighed down by stones in his pockets – after one of the film’s stars humiliates him.
Charlie and Jake take the tragedy to comedic levels when the calls upon them to perform all 15 characters – including the female roles – often switching gender and voice swiftly and with minimal costume change.
Last year, Shaun, who is based in London, starred in the critically acclaimed sell-out, one man show, In the Name of the Son (Green Shoots Productions) chronicling the life of Gerry Conlon – one of the Guildford Four.
He also starred in the BBC comedy pilot St Mungos, written by Conor Grimes and Alan McKee, and will be appearing in the upcoming second season of Bloodlands (BBC).
With such creditable roles behind him, it might be surprising to learn that Shaun didn’t catch the acting bug until he went to university.
The former St Patrick’s Grammar School pupil had gone to Queen’s University intending to graduate in Film and English, before setting off on a career as a scriptwriter.
But taking drama as a sideline was the serendipitous move that would change the course of his future.
He ended up switching to solely drama and there followed a path through a host of local theatres companies where he cut his teeth with aplomb, including The Man Who Fell to Pieces, with Tinderbox Theatre Company, Three's a Shroud (GBL Productions), Bouncers (Guildford Fringe), Comet, with Replay Theatre Company, and Inventors, Kabosh Theatre.
He learned his trade as a tradesman would, he observes. “I learned on the job, as you would on a building site,” he said.
“I’ve worked with a host of very gracious directors and actors who have helped me and advised me and I’ve learned from watching them.”
He embraced everything he learned to help him reach for the pinnacle of local theatre.
“Getting on to the stage at the Lyric has been a big bucket list thing for me and I’ve been trying to get there for a long time. It’s such a beautiful stage and wonderful audiences,” he adds.
Physically treading the boards with alongside McCabe, Shaun says the cat was already “out of the bag” regarding the virtual appearance of a host of Northern Ireland’s most celebrated actors.
“They made cameo appearances near the end of the play, projected on to a massive screen,” he says.
“They have been tremendously gracious with their time for the cameos.”
Shaun will barely get a breather this summer but he’s riding that welcome wave of work while he can.
“I finish Stones in His Pockets at the end of June, then immediately go in to ‘In the Name of the Son’, at the Grand Opera House, in July, before taking it straight to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.
“I feel very spoilt at the moment. I am fortunate to be in this position because I’ve been an actor for 13 years and these things come in waves and you just have to surf the wave when it comes.”