"In the Doctor's waiting room": A Manx play by J .E. Q. Cooil, performed by The Michael Players
Channel: Culture Vannin
Date: 2019-08-12

A brilliant example of Manx dialect theatre, performed live by the Isle of Man's most important theatre group of this type, The Michael Players RBV.
'In the Doctor's waiting room’ is one of the most perfectly formed Manx dialect plays, and one of Isle of Man's most brilliantly funny plays.
This play from the 1950s about a collection of Manx characters trying to get a pot off a child’s head is by the brilliant J. E. Q. Cooil.
Although the manuscript for this play was found amongst the Michael Players’ collection of Manx dialect plays, there is no definite record of its ever having been performed. It is undoubtedly a hidden gem of Manx theatre and it is just one example of why J. E. Q. Cooil’s sudden death at the age of 36 in 1959 was such a terrible loss for Manx literature and theatre.
Other than the performance at the Kirk Michael Oie'll Verree in January 2019, it is possible that this is the first ever performance of this play.
This is the first performance of the play to be made available online.

This performance is a part of the “Manks Concert” held at the Peel Centenary Centre on 24 May 2019, the anniversary of the birth of Sophia Morrison.

The event was organised by the Manx Branch of the Celtic Congress http://celticcongressmannin.com/
The Celtic Congress was founded in 1902 in order to promote the knowledge, use, and appreciation of the languages and cultures of the six Celtic nations. The Manx branch today continues to perpetuate the culture, ideals, and languages of the Celtic peoples, and to maintain an intellectual contact and close cooperation with the other Celtic communities.
We are very grateful to the Celtic Congress for agreeing to our recording and releasing the concert here.

Film produced by Culture Vannin, 2019.
Culture Vannin exists to promote and support all aspects of culture in the Isle of Man.
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