It went down well in Dublin, played to appreciative audiences in Belfast, and its next stop is Derry. The Playhouse is the perfect venue for Rose + Bud, the story of a young confused boy from Ballynahinch en route to Magee College and a new life.
In this play we see how his mother has mollycoddled him and thinks he’s a bit girly but accepts he’s probably gay and maybe just finding himself. However, his alter ego steps outside his physical body and urges him to acknowledge the fact that perhaps it’s more than being gay or a cross-dresser, but actually being trapped in the wrong body.
This play, the first for playwright and actress Rose Coogan, is a remarkable piece. Rose takes on the roll of the racy mother, Bud’s alter ego and various students, while Conor Cupples plays the young man in the swirl and turmoil of being a first year student.
There are many references to Derry which the audience may or may not like but in the Lyric Theatre last week there was much laughter and applause. Sometimes I found it difficult to work out who Rose was at any given time so it’s important to concentrate and keep up with the fast pace of the script.
It’s a neat production under the guidance of Benjamin Gould. The minimal set is a long box, with a standard lamp, a chair and a screen with the message, ‘Come as you are’, which could be the play’s subtitle.
Bud involves us in his story. He’s very open about his boyfriend Conor who abandons him now there are all these new boys and girls to meet and befriend, all the time conflicted with his gender.
The Magee students perform an end of term show for bus drivers and by that time both Bud and Rose know who they were, who they are and who they want to be. This is a semi-autobiographical piece which shares a much needed positive trans narrative and it certainly has an uplifting ending.
Rose + Bud by Rose Coogan is a Commedia of Errors production and is at Derry’s Playhouse on October 10 and 11
