Director Stephen Acton makes his return to Wexford drama scene for Gorey Musical Society’s West Side Story

Almost six months after an accident left him hospitalised and unable to move, award-winning director Stephen Acton will make his return to the Gorey drama scene with what he describes as one of the biggest shows Gorey has ever seen.

From March 27 until April 1, Stephen will direct the Gorey Musical Society production of West Side Story in Gorey Little Theatre. While the director, actor and drama teacher is promising a “beast of a show” for audiences, being involved in the production has also been a huge gift for him following his life-altering accident last October.

"This show has been a lifeline for me. If it wasn’t for it, I would be spending all day and all night doing nothing but having appointments here and appointments there. I needed to get up and going,” he said.

Stephen received huge support from the Wexford drama community and beyond following an accident last October which left him in a coma. Since then, he has had to undergo plenty of treatment in order to be able to make his return to the theatre.

"When I woke up in ICU, I wasn’t able to move. I had to do physiotherapy and occupational therapy in Beaumont after that, and then I eventually came home to continue with the treatment,” he said. “I’m doing well. My recovery is going very well. I am not back to work yet so all of my days are free. The doctors are going to assess me after Easter and see where we go from there.”

Stephen remains on medication to prevent seizures, which he said he will likely be on for life. While he is not currently working his day job, he is devoting his time to the upcoming production, with rehearsals taking place six days a week.

"One thing I am grateful for is my other team members who have been very supportive of me, as have the cast and the company. That makes it a little bit easier and has allowed me to be the usual director that I am,” he said. "They are giving me energy. It is such a high energy show and that gives you that injection of energy to keep going.”

The cast and crew of Gorey Musical Society officially launched the production in recent days and there’s now less than three weeks to go until they take to the stage. Anticipation is high, with Stephen saying it will be one of the biggest productions Gorey has seen.

"It is a beast of a show. I would say, having been involved with Gorey Musical Society since forever, it is one of the largest that they have ever done,” he said. “They definitely have the largest orchestra, and it is also very choreography-heavy, something they’ve completely invested in since day one.”

"Although there are a lot of local people involved, people are travelling long distances to take part too. Our leading male is travelling two and a half hours from Clonmel, for example.”

With this in mind, the cast will include both new and familiar faces to the Gorey drama scene. Emmet Donlan will take on the role of Tony, while Karla Tracey will play leading lady, Maria. Meanwhile, the cast will also include Margaret Masterson as Anita, Michael Cruz as Bernardo, Richard O’Toole as Riff, Brandon Cogley as Chino, Hannah McNiven as Anybodys, and many, many more. Megan Mc Evoy will serve as Choreographer for the production, with Conor McCarthy stepping up as Musical Director.

While Stephen is renowned for putting his own creative slant on his productions, he hopes to embrace the play as is and bring all the best bits to the forefront.

“I think we can always approach things differently and interpret certain things in a different way but these are classics. I don’t think they need to be twisted around or messed with. People would know me for taking on something and doing my own slant on it or really turning it upside-down and I would do that for a lot of productions but I said from day one, this is not the one to be doing it with. You don’t have to replicate it. We can put our own interpretation and vision on it but it is a masterpiece for a reason.”

Tickets for West Side Story are now available from www.gr8events.ie.