A Couple of Blaguards
Blaguards is autobiographical and spans their years growing up in Ireland and their escape to America in search of a better life.
Though times were tough for the McCourt family raised on a lane in Limerick, the tales spun by the Frank and Malachy characters in A Couple of Blaguards simmer with bitter-sweet recollections and ferocious humor. Perhaps the McCourt’s extraordinary gift of seeming to play a dirge on a kazoo evokes a playful truth resonating with mischief that blithely crosses ethnic, religious and cultural boundries. As described by the authors:
Malachy McCourt…
“This show is the result of Frank and myself listening to the stories of our elders which in turn tunes the ear, the eye and the tongue to observe and give voice to even the most trivial of events.”
Frank McCourt…
“Malachy stood behind the bar and told his customers stories. I stood before the blackboard and told my students stories. At holiday gatherings we told our families stories. They said, “Why not get together, cobble these stories into a script and tell the world.”
Memorable! The brothers McCourt bring their two best selling
books to the stage... the show has a roguish appeal.
- Peter Marks, The New York Times
An unholy amount of charm!
- The Washington Post
A Couple of Blaguards is a two-character comedy with incidental music, created by Frank McCourt, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winner Angela’s Ashes, and his brother, Malachy McCourt, author of A Monk Swimming.
