Memories of the Liberties

7 Oct 1980

Memories the Ul Liberties

Zoz by Joe O’Donnell: Olympia
The Christmas spirit came early to the Olympia last night when the ‘ghosts of the ‘Liberties’ past floated up from the waters of the Poddle which flows under the theatre. The playful skits of the ‘Liberties Birds’ centre around the figure of the blind balladeer, Michael Moran, known to posterity as Zozimu. This troupe of colourful eccentrics added a dash of colour to the population of the Liberties in the early nineteenth century. They did something of the same last night when Joe O’Donnell’s life of Zoz trod the boards above the Poddle. The intention was grand, the style flavish but in the end it stuttered over, its own flimsy material. The author was unable to graft the plot from the unseens of the radio to the visual caresses of the stage.

The songs and recitals of Zoz were not all penned by Moran and his notoriety depended on his eccentricity to make his name. This facet was well carried by Frank Kelly, relishing the difficulty and challenge of a role which demanded that not an eye (of his) be opened during the entire performance. Moran’s recitals were witty without ‘being exciting, and none of them appeared to stir the audience last night. Fortunately he was steered well away from the pit-by the silent antics of his dumb companion Owney (Gerry Lundberg) who arrived his deformities to good intention.

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