from www.gofish.com posted with vodpod
(Only clip of a production of this show I could find; I don’t know the details as to where/when/which company this is, unfortunately.)
McDonagh, Martin. The Beauty Queen of Leenane. New York: Vintage, 1996. 84 p. In the anthology The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Other Plays.
The Sullivans: An Australian soap opera that ran from 1976 to 1983, about a middle-class Melbourne family during World War II. More at Wiki.
“The TV is on, showing an old episode of The Sullivans.” (12)
Skitter: “Diarrhea; looseness or laxity of the bowels,” according to the OED, chiefly Scottish.
“RAY: Well, I’m not wading through all that skitter just to tell her.” (14)
Gasur: In the official language of Ireland, Gaeilge, “gasur” means “boy.”
“MAG: With no news. Sure, what news would a gasur have?” (20)
Complan: According to Wiki, a British brand of powdered milk drink, marketed as a nutritional supplement and health aid.
“MAUREEN switches off the kettle, pours a sachet of Complan into a mug and fills it up with water.” (21)
Kimberley Biscuits: Apparently a type of cake/cookie manufactured by the company Jacob’s; looks like it’s two ginger cake/cookies with marshmallow in between. Here’s a picture and a very grammatically-shaky review.
“MAUREEN sits at the table with a pack of Kimberley biscuits.” (24)
Mikado Biscuits: Another cookie by Jacob’s, and mind-bogglingly gross-looking: Ten blobs of marshmallow and raspberry jam on a flat vanilla cookie, sprinkled with coconut. Here’s Jacob’s official description, and that same grammatically-wonky blog’s take on ‘em.
“RAY: Or was it Mikados? It was some kind of horrible biscuits.” (29)
Tayto: A generic word for “potato chip” in some parts of Ireland, taken from the Tayto brand name — Tayto is a major manufacturer of potato chips, popcorn, and other snack foods in Ireland. More at Wiki.
“PATO: She had dropped some Taytos on her blouse, there, I was just brushing them off for her.” (34)
Delia Murphy: According to Wiki, “Delia Murphy (1902 – 1971) was a singer and collector of Irish ballads. Some knew her as ‘The Queen of Connemara.’”
“The Spinning Wheel”: A song by the Irish singer Delia Murphy (see above). Its lyrics describe a “young maiden” sneaking out to walk with her love, deceiving her dozing blind grandmother, who believes the girl is still sitting near her, spinning. Full lyrics can be found here.
“The song ‘The Spinning Wheel,’ sung by Delia Murphy, has just started on the radio.” (32)
Praitie: According to the OED, an Irish, Scottish, and Newfoundland regional word for “potato.”
“MAUREEN: I wash me praities in there.” (41)
Difford Hall: Seems to be an invented place, not a real one.
“MAG: And reminds you of Difford Hall in England, too, I’ll bet it does . . .” (42)
Doolally: According to the OED, short for the full phrase “doolally tap,” which means “Characterized by an unbalanced state of mind.” Wiki says it came from the “cabin fever” felt by British soldiers waiting at the Deolali British Army transit camp for ships home from India.
“MAUREEN: A lot of doolally people, aye.” (43)
Spike Milligan: According to Wiki, Spike Milligan (1918-2002) was “an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet and playwright.” The article also says that he suffered from bipolar disorder, and had “at least ten major mental breakdowns” during his lifetime.
“PATO: Poor Spike Milligan, isn’t he forever having breakdowns?” (43)
Gangerman: According to the American-British/British-American Dictionary, “the foreman of a gang of navvies” — that is, of unskilled laborers or construction workers.
“PATO: The gangerman does pop his head in sometimes.” (48)
Sons and Daughters: Another Australian soap opera, which ran from 1981 to 1987. Looks like this one focused on a man on the run from murder charges who falls in love with a woman who turns out to be his separated-at-birth twin sister. Sticky spot, that. More at Wiki.
“RAY: I do like Sons and Daughters, I do.” (52)
A Country Practice: Yup, another Australian soap opera/TV series, this one running from 1981 to 1993. According to Wiki, it “followed a medical practice in the small fictional New South Wales country town of Wandin Valley. The show’s stories focused on the staff of the practice and the hospital and their families, and through weekly guest characters – frequently patients served by the practice – various social and medical problems were explored. The series examined such topical issues as youth unemployment, suicide, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, and terminal illness as well as Aborigines and their place in modern Australian society.”
“RAY: For God’s sake, A Country Fecking Practice’s on next.” (53)
Swingball: According to Wiki, a game somewhat like tetherball, but played using rackets and a tethered tennis ball. The full description: “An alternate version of the game sold as Swingball uses a smaller, softer ball that the players strike with racquets. It can be described as ‘tether tennis,’ and is more popular in the United Kingdom. Swingball has a shorter pole, is portable and the ball flies around the pole at a constant distance from the pole on a helical screw; the game ends when the ball reaches the top or bottom of the screw. Generally the ball used for these games is a tennis ball, and the racquets can come from ping-pong or games with similar paddles.”
“RAY: Didn’t she keep the tennis ball that came off me and Mairtin Hanlon’s swingball set and landed in yere fields and wouldn’t give it back no matter how much we begged and that was ten years ago and I still haven’t forgotten it?” (53)
Wine Gums: According to Wiki, a kind of firm, fruit-flavored gummy candy sold in Ireland and the U.K. (as well as elsewhere).
“MAUREEN: Didn’t I buy you a packet of wine gums last week if I’m so mean?” (61)
The Birmingham Six: According to Wiki, six men (Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker) who were sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1974 bombing of two British pubs (called the “Birmingham pub bombings”). The case was (and is still, sounds like) surrounded by controversy, with the men being beaten and abused throughout the proceedings and many charges of fabrication of evidence being leveled. In 1991, 16 years after the 1975 ruling, the men’s convictions were overturned.
“RAY: Isn’t that how the Birmingham Six went down?” (75)
Wagon Wheels: Another type of cookie sold in the U.K. and Ireland, manufactured by Burton’s (not Jacob’s); this one’s marshmallow coated by chocolate, though apparently they come in other flavors. Wiki’s got some info and here’s that goofy biscuits blog on these biscuits: take one (with a picture of the cookie) and take two (with the packaging).
Jaffa Cakes: If you don’t know what a Jaffa Cake is, go watch episode 5 of Spaced. Or even if you do know what a Jaffa Cake is. Hell, it’s the Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz team! JUST GO WATCH IT!
…It’s another type of cookie of British origin; Wiki says the leading brand is McVitie’s. Little bit of cake with orange marmalade and chocolate on top. Pretty good, actually. You can get things like ‘em in the States pretty easy, I think.
“RAY: I think Kimberleys are me favourite biscuits out of any biscuits. Them or Jaffa Cakes. Or Wagon Wheels.” (77)
Bosco: According to Wiki, an Irish children’s television show that ran “during the late 1970s and early 1980s.” It sounds a bit like Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood or Sesame Street (or, hell, Under the Umbrella Tree, if anyone remembers that one), something along those lines — with a main puppet character, various segments with other characters, and humans interacting with the puppets.
“RAY: Like the lass used to be on Bosco.” (79)
The Chieftains: According to Wiki, “a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1963, best known for being the first band to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.”
“MAUREEN starts rocking slightly in the chair, listening to the song by The Chieftains on the radio.” (84)
