This page is a record of a play relating to Fremantle.


John Boyle O'Reilly was Lois Achimovich's fourth play, and had its premiere on 9 November 1989 in a shed on Victoria Quay.

The image above is a still from a videotape recording of the performance.

Cast and crew of the first production of John Boyle O'Reilly are listed below.

Cast
John Boyle O'Reilly Adrian Mulraney
Father McCabe, Breslin, Lionel Samson Maurie Ogden
Jessie Woodman, Mrs Samson, Mrs O'Reilly, Eileen O'Leary, Jean Rosemarie Lenzo
Governor of Westem Australia, Captain Anthony Lee Buddle
Guard, Mr Woodman, Devoy John Reed
Mrs Woodman, Pearl Kavisha Mazzella
Musicians
Lee Buddle Vocals, Flutes, Tin Whistles, Synthesiser, Concertina, Percussion
John Reed Vocals, Cittern, Guitar, Harmonica, Tin Whistle
Kavisha Mazzella Vocals, Accordion, Guitar, Percussion, Synthesiser
Rosemarie Lenzo Bodhran
Maurie Ogden Vocals, Bones
Production crew
Writer Lois Achimovich
Director Phil Thomson
Assistant Director Anne-Marie Brady
Designer Tish Oldham (Phillips)
Musical Director Lee Buddle
Production Manager/Set Construction/Lighting Design Alan Surgener
Visuals Michael O'Rourke/Tish Oldham
Production Assistant/Costumes Sandy McKendrick


Thanks to Gary Burke for the initial inspiration for this production and his continued support throughout. Original music written and arranged by Lee Buddle, Kavisha Mazzella and John Reed. Traditional songs and tunes researched by Lois Achimovich, Lee Buddle and John Reed. Most of the poems used are adapted from the works of John Boyle O'Reilly. Short excerpts of poems from Yeats, Joyce, Lady Wilde and traditional sources have also been used.

A recording of the music from the play called It Was No Bad Choice was released by Kitchen Records Cooperative on cassette in 1991.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 29 August 1998 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/loisachimovich/john.html (it was last updated on 8 May, 2021), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.