Page 23 - The Gonzaga Record 1990
P. 23
to expect an annual operetta and. since 1976. thi s has been provided by
the fertile genius of Mr Gerry Murphy who has just completed . for the
third time round . that cycle of mu sicals that are all hi s own work. There
are ve ry few boys - and parents - within the last fifteen years who ha ve
not fol lowed th e saga of Alpha Chemicals and witnessed. on sta ge. th e
manifestation of that \\'Ondcrful enthusia sm for th e game of chess that
'-
has brought th e College to th e very pinnacle of success in that cerebral
game.
But there was a time when plays we re produced fitfully. They were
not things to be done every year. Rather. they depended upon the amou nt
Of talent a\'ailab le and th e \Vish Of the boys themselves tO get into the act.
During the sixties three notable plays were staged. These were 771e
Co111edion ( Henri Gheon). A Man./(Jr all Seasons (Robert Bolt) and Billy
Budd (Coxe and Chapman). In them th e leading ro les were played
outstandingly by Ross Geoghegan. Leslie Webb and Brya n Shannon. Of
the first two I possess numerous photos. taken wit hout ll ash from the
wings. Looking through these again I sec. among many others. Simon
O'Leary as a Roman centurion. Arthur Plunkctt a noble senator. John
Cooke a winsome Roman matron. Anthony Clare a Christi an slave. And
I can recall the cast of Robert Bolt's play - Esmond c Smyth . John
O'Leary. Richard Ri ce. Desmond Fleming, !an Finlay. John Mathcws.
James Mac ken. Michael Laffan. Adrian Kenny. David Clarkc, !an
Eustace. Germ·d Hooke. H ubert Mahony. M ichael Algar. Gcollrey
Carroll.
In all my time the performance of Leslie Webb as Thomas More was
the most unforgettable - perhaps because he was him se l L even then .
a man for all seasons. Tremendously gifted both in mind and character
he was the most co mplete youn g man I ever kn ew. Among a wide range
of interests he had a special passion for cricket, knew Wisden by heart
(a nd on more than one occasion wrote to correct its edi tors). What a sense
of lo ss we fe lt when, in 1971 , we learn ed that Leslie had lost his life
in a tragic drowning off the coast of Brunei while working in the Volunteer
Overseas Service.
Well, I have written at far greater length th an I ever intended. But,
after all , the Editor left me on a long leash. I've been ec lectic, and verbose.
and I know that my enthu sias im s and prejudices are showing. I expect
that I'll be categorised as a laudator remporis acri. I make no apology
and say to all Forsan et haec o!im meminisse iuvabit.' and leave th e last
word to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow :
Age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by clay.
2 1
the fertile genius of Mr Gerry Murphy who has just completed . for the
third time round . that cycle of mu sicals that are all hi s own work. There
are ve ry few boys - and parents - within the last fifteen years who ha ve
not fol lowed th e saga of Alpha Chemicals and witnessed. on sta ge. th e
manifestation of that \\'Ondcrful enthusia sm for th e game of chess that
'-
has brought th e College to th e very pinnacle of success in that cerebral
game.
But there was a time when plays we re produced fitfully. They were
not things to be done every year. Rather. they depended upon the amou nt
Of talent a\'ailab le and th e \Vish Of the boys themselves tO get into the act.
During the sixties three notable plays were staged. These were 771e
Co111edion ( Henri Gheon). A Man./(Jr all Seasons (Robert Bolt) and Billy
Budd (Coxe and Chapman). In them th e leading ro les were played
outstandingly by Ross Geoghegan. Leslie Webb and Brya n Shannon. Of
the first two I possess numerous photos. taken wit hout ll ash from the
wings. Looking through these again I sec. among many others. Simon
O'Leary as a Roman centurion. Arthur Plunkctt a noble senator. John
Cooke a winsome Roman matron. Anthony Clare a Christi an slave. And
I can recall the cast of Robert Bolt's play - Esmond c Smyth . John
O'Leary. Richard Ri ce. Desmond Fleming, !an Finlay. John Mathcws.
James Mac ken. Michael Laffan. Adrian Kenny. David Clarkc, !an
Eustace. Germ·d Hooke. H ubert Mahony. M ichael Algar. Gcollrey
Carroll.
In all my time the performance of Leslie Webb as Thomas More was
the most unforgettable - perhaps because he was him se l L even then .
a man for all seasons. Tremendously gifted both in mind and character
he was the most co mplete youn g man I ever kn ew. Among a wide range
of interests he had a special passion for cricket, knew Wisden by heart
(a nd on more than one occasion wrote to correct its edi tors). What a sense
of lo ss we fe lt when, in 1971 , we learn ed that Leslie had lost his life
in a tragic drowning off the coast of Brunei while working in the Volunteer
Overseas Service.
Well, I have written at far greater length th an I ever intended. But,
after all , the Editor left me on a long leash. I've been ec lectic, and verbose.
and I know that my enthu sias im s and prejudices are showing. I expect
that I'll be categorised as a laudator remporis acri. I make no apology
and say to all Forsan et haec o!im meminisse iuvabit.' and leave th e last
word to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow :
Age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by clay.
2 1
