Galway Advertiser 1990/1990_08_16/GA_16081990_E1_008.pdf 

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ONE HUNDRED PER CENT __The_ ; GALWAY
- Galuicix AOxertiser

English actor Michael Roberts who plays Dimitri, the Greek lampshade designer in Druid's production of "The Stanley Parkers", is set to take Galway audiences on a whistlestop tour of American humour in his new lunchtime show, 100% All Talking. It plays in Druid at 1.10 p.m. from 23rd to 25th of August.

MICHAEL ROBERTS

L

Judy Murphy

A WHALE OF A TIME
Launching a single on a b o a t trip to A r a n m a y s e e m unusual, b u t S a l t h i l l b a s e d g r o u p , T h e L i t t l e F i s h , h a d a w h a l e of a t i m e when they launched their new single on T h e G a l w a y B a y last I week. "Good Publicity"
"We've been getting good publicity for the single," says The Rev., who insists the Little Fish must be known to the public by their sea names. These are Sam Trout, Theodore Sturgeon, Teddy Plaice, and Rev Crawfish. " S a m and Theodore were on the Alan Corcoran Show on FM2 on Saturday night, talking about the group, and singing live. We have also got a residen cy in a pub in Dun Laoghaire for the next few Thursdays and we plan a tour to promote the record." The Little Fish was formed about four years ago, and went through several changes before reaching the present line up about two and a half years ago. The group released its first single Long Grass in May of last year. It was well received, being shown on Pourini.a nd played on Dave Fanning and Gerry Ryan's radio programmes.

The Little Fish were launching their third single, ''The Waitin' That I Hate", and had the idea of a Launch on a Launch, just to be different It was a great evening, apart from a few hiccups on the dockside, when some invited guests couldn't get on the boat because of numbers and safety and such matters. A choppy ride over was eased with the aid of several cans of Tennents.. Everyone survived to reach Inis Mor. After a brief stop the boat turned for home. Everybody adjourned downstairs to warmth and comfort, and were enter tained by a concert of sorts from the group who had brought their equipment for the occasion. Afterwards the Rev Cleophus Crawfish said he was extremely pleased with the evening, but wanted to apologise to anybody left behind.

A B a n d Song
After that the band | released Patsy Child and made a video of the song with Tele Gael. The fish have also been involved in a film The Little Film by the Little Fish made with Tele Gael and The Film Resource Centre. In its early years the band had a more country and Rhythm and Blues sound, now they concen trate on rock, according to Rev. Crawfish. The Waitin' That I Hate is entirely a band song, be ing written, arranged and performed by the various fish. "Now it's time to get at tention," the Rev says. "Since most of the record people live in Dublin we have a lot of promotion to do in that area."

M I C H A E L R O B E R T S a s Marlon Brando in the film " T e a h o u s e of t h e A u g u s t M o o n "
"100% All Talking is a celebration of American humour in rough chronological order from the twenties on," Michael explains. " I got the name from the advertisment for the first talking films. "Through the decades there have been some great American come dians - Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Mae West, Danny Kaye, Mel Brooks - and on stage I try to give a feel of what it would be like to be them in different roles. The con tent changes regularly, and I give the basic background so people can get full benefit from the show." Michael, who looks far less than his 44 years, rarely stops performing, even away from theatre. He is very dark, a feature he attributes to his Polish/Jewish grand father. His stories of eccentric aunts and of a London childhood are told with a lively sense of humour, and he delights in telling jokes. His facial expres sions, accents and exag gerated mannerisms make him a wonderful entertainer and excellent company. It's easy im agine why his one man show has been so well received in England. He first did 100% All Talking 10 years ago as lunchtime theatre in Man chester and has done it on an irregular basis since, bringing it to various venues in Britain. He developed the show from his extensive knowledge of films. train as a teacher first for job security. I studied English and History and and taught for several years because I discovered I liked it," he explains. During this time he worked with several amateur theatre groups, and his acting improved. Finally he decided it was time to give up his job. He got a grant to go to the Webber Douglas Drama School. In his 10 years as an ac tor he has played a wide variety of parts - Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Mrs Malaprop in The Rivals and Tom in The Glass Menagerie. Last year he played Jacques in As You l i k e It and Cornwall in King Lear, for the Oxford Stage Company. Although he has built up a successful career Michael still does subsitute teaching occasionally. "It's a great fall back, because it means I can say no to parts I don't want. I like teaching, but wouldn't like do it full time again. Michael is delighted with the opportunity to perform his one man show in Galway. Most recent ly he performed it as a night time show in Lon don's Young Vic to raise funds for AIDS research. disease is not being taken seriously . In the Stanley Parkers he plays a gay man, whose partner who is dying of AIDS. He says the part is a joy, being challenging rather than difficult. "You have to deal with these two men, and what happens to them. That means being honest, and it's a part which doesn't let you get away with anything. "Generally people have reacted well. Some older people have been a bit in secure at first, because of the gay stereotype thing, but in the end, humanity rules out, because it's a story of bereavement rather than sexuality." This is Michael's first time performing in Ireland, and he is enjoying it enormously. One of his fascinations is how Irish people seem to love language. He would like to do more work in this coun try and is happy that a lot of important people from Irish theatre have seen this show. He is also involved in radio and television, and can be heard as Groucho Marx in the new BBC Radio 4 series, Flywheel, Shipter and Flywheel. He is due to appear in Channel Fours upcoming series, This is David Harper for which he has great hopes. The sneak review of 100% All Talking indicates this will be a most en joyable show, so wolf your sandwiches, gulp your milk, and go to Druid.

GALWAY
FISH OVERBOARD--The Little Fish before boarding the Galway Bay ferry for the launch of their new single "The Waitin' That I Hate.

Substitute Teaching
"I grew up in London, and there were loads of cinemas around my area. I was an only child and my parents were always tak ing me to films." Michael always wanted to be an actor, but first became a teacher. "My father who was an optician sight tested an ac tor, and he advised that I

Bereavement
He talks a lot about the problem of AIDS and it worries him that the