Patrick Kealey in ‘The Life and Rhymes of Archy and Mehitabel’

Hearing you loud and clear, Archy!

In Patrick Kealey’s solo show, The Life and Rhymes of Archy and Mehitabel, Archy, free-verse poet and reluctant transmigrated cockroach, energetically and heartfully relates his life experiences – included a failed suicide attempt and his encounters with various other non-human characters. Although his words are inspired by writing from the early 1900s, Kealey passionately delivers a serious, contemporary message for his human audience. HOT’s Zelly Restorick went along to the opening night at The Stables Theatre.

Through Archy, the characters talk of their experiences with humanity – with deep insight and emotion. Kealey flows with ease from character to character (requiring a huge amount of focus and concentration), from accent to accent, adding and discarding a prop or two as he embodies each of them in their turn, often in dialogue with each other.

Kealey brilliantly, charismatically, whole-heartedly, passionately delivers his free-verse messages, playing host to Archy the cockroach, Mehitabel the cat, the Egyptian mummy and a lot of dust (echoing the deserts already advancing our globe), a parrot, a lightening bug, a mosquito.

Patrick Kealey

EACH ONE plays their role. Individually and collectively. Mirroring the symbiotic relationship we have with the fellow residents we share this planet’s bounty and beauty with.

As a human who, many years ago, spoke with the mosquitos in my rented Cretan room (having been thoroughly bitten), suggesting a truce – an amnesty on harming each other (“You don’t bite me, I won’t squish you against the wall”) – who then didn’t get bitten again for the rest of their holiday, I deeply heard Archy the cockroach’s words of wisdom – about the insect kingdom, their individuality and ESSENTIAL importance in the web of life here on earth. Deep resounding resonance. Deep vibration. Muchly appreciation and gratitude to all involved in this production, especially after such a long furlough, social isolation in the theatre and all that the Covid rules entail.

Free image

FELLOW HUMANS! It is not all about us. Humanity is not ‘The Only Species’. We may self-appoint ourselves as Chief Planetary – and Beyond – Honchos. This is a human-delusion. An illusion. We are only one part of the much bigger picture, which definitely is not a ‘selfie’. This goes our connection with ‘self’.

Please let us see this beautiful, inter-linked, inter-connected miraculous network, of which we are only a part, individually and collectively. Otherwise, there seems to be a distinct possibility we will become just another extinct species. Alongside all the other myriads and myriads of extinct species in the history of planet earth – of which humanity is merely a pencil line on the chronological evolutionary timeline.

Humane humanity?

If you missed it you can watch the entire performance on YouTube here

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