And don’t I feel the fool now for not knowing about Two Pints, the latest successful play by Irish author and playwright Roddy Doyle? It’s a two-man show that consists of two Irish fellows in their 60s, talking in their local over a couple pints of Guinness. Doesn’t sound like much, does it, but you have to remember: 1) It’s by Roddy Doyle, and 2) It was actually staged in pubs.
In 2018 Doyle toured Ireland with it, playing in actual pubs, with two of Ireland’s top stage actors, Phillip Judge and Liam Carney. Well, the best thing for it is to go to the RTE website. (That’d be Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland’s National Public Service Broadcaster.) And watch this video of Roddy explaining the whole thing.
It started with a short script that Doyle posted on his Facebook page. So now it’s come full circle, with Doyle posting additional scripts on Facebook as our two protagonists attempt to continue their practice of sharing a couple of pints via Skype. It’s called Two Pints: In the Time of Corona and as of this writing there are three episodes. Here’s a brief excerpt from Episode 3:
ONE: Sit up there – I can’t see yeh.
TWO: D’you really want to see me?
ONE: Not really, but – there. That’s better. You’re sweatin’ a
bit there, are yeh? Are yeh alrigh’?
TWO: Well, I was ou’ for me walk there. Nothin’ illegal now – I
was well inside me 2k. But I seen a couple o’ guards comin’
towards us. An’ I started runnin’.
ONE: Why?
TWO: It was automatic. I thought I was fourteen again.
ONE: That’s brilliant.
TWO: Well, it was – although runnin’ – .
ONE: A killer.
TWO: A challenge. The wife was furious.
ONE: Why?
TWO: I left her behind. I legged it on me own, like.
ONE: Did they arrest her?
TWO: Why would they arrest her?
ONE: Well, she’s married to you, for a start. Tha’ has to be some sort of an offence.
TWO: Ah, lay off.
ONE: I’ve been ou’ walkin’ a bit, meself.
TWO: Good man.
ONE: Now tha’ we’re not supposed to – it kind o’ makes sense.
TWO: Funny tha’, isn’t it? There’s people ou’ walkin’ tha’ haven’t inhaled fresh air since Michael Collins was shot.
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