Taking the stage on the road

THERE is a real respect for theatre in rural Ireland but it was much more pronounced up to the 1950s. It arose in no small way because of the Fit Ups and the Touring Companies. They all travelled to the towns and villages of the country and while most played in halls some actually brought their own “hall” with them and built a marquee with timber walls and canvas roof where they performed each night.
At one stage it is estimated that there were as many as 80 touring groups criss-crossing the country. Some of them became known to later generations under different guises. Cyril Cusack, Anna Manahan,  Hal Roach,  Milo O’Shea and Sandy Kelly all started their careers in touring companies as did many of the early cast of The Riordans – John Crowley (Tom Riordan) and his wife Annie d’Alton (Minnie Brennan) ran their own company, The Tara Players. 
Another more famous “graduate” of touring Ireland was Nobel prize winner Harold Pinter. His first ever job on stage was with Anew McMaster.
McMaster was born in Birkenhead and was king of the touring actors/managers. His first visit to this country was in 1915 with the O’Brien Theatrical Company. Ten years later he returned with The Anew McMaster Intimate Shakespearean Company. He continued touring Ireland until 1960.
That first touring company in 1925 included his brother-in-law – Alfred Willmore. The brother-in-law became totally engrossed in Irish life and literature, learned Irish, was a founder of An Taibhdhearc and changed his name to Micheál Mac Liammóir. The company was unusual in that they tended to avoid the established run of venues – Belfast, Dublin and Cork but instead concentrated on provincial towns.
It has been said that in all his years touring McMaster only played Dublin for 13 weeks. They would perform for six or seven nights in the week often with matinees and usually with different plays on each occasion. McMaster brought a wide range of outstanding drama all over the country. It is reported that in one week in 1955 the people of Corofin were offered Othello, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Dial M for Murder, She Stoops to Conquer and Dracula.
Years later Pinter recalled that in two years with McMaster he played in As You Like It, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, The Merchant of Venice, Lady Windermere’s Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest among others.
It was common for an actor to have more than one part to play each night. Pay was not great and everybody had to share all the jobs. The actors were responsible for everything from advertising the shows, putting up posters, erecting their tents, selling tickets to cleaning up afterwards.
1960 brought an end to McMaster’s touring. He continued to work at some one man shows, TV appearances and adjudicating at festivals.
He played a run of Othello in England in 1962 and was planning a run in Ireland but it was not to be. Feeling ill he went to his doctor who diagnosed a clot in his arm and prescribed three weeks in bed. That evening he went to bed and died in his sleep on August 24th 1962 – 48 years ago this week.
n Michael Torpey