In the shoes of the character’s dramatic role in the play, Gerry Evans bestows the light humour and entertainment. He is the conventional clown of the stage who keeps the audience keen and interested while the drama continues on.
The play is pivotally situated in Ballybeg, Ireland. Other than Father Jack, Gerry Evans, as a Welshman, brings the outside world to Ballybeg. His experience of Dancing, the aerial, his talk of politics he brings the outside world to them.
The Mundy sisters have their own related opinion to Gerry Evans in the play. First, we have Christina, the father of her child Michael. Christina is the only sister who has been involved with a man sexually and romantically. Gerry appears unexpectedly, and Chris, despite herself, is charmed by him all over again. “Oh sweet God – look at the state of me – what’ll I say to him? – how close is his?” is one of the primal reactions to when Gerry Evans arrives. By thinking about her appearance suggests that she wants to impress or perhaps seduce Gerry Evans. She remains immobile while the other sisters run into chaos. “…you have a very handsome father. You are a lucky boy and I am a very, very lucky woman’, the emphasis suggests that the character of Gerry Evans has as strong love influence onto Christina. He is dearly loved and missed by Christina. The relationship with Kate and Gerry Evans is a strong but negative one. Although she appears to despise “that Mr Evans” (as she calls him, not by Gerry) and describes him as a ‘creature’ with no sense of ordinary duty…Does he care?’, with the character that Gerry is, the unreliable father, it gives Kate to emphasis to the audience that men are unreliable, and makes an example of him. It gives her the opportunity to be over-protective once again of her sisters. ‘He sends his love to you all. His special love to you, Aggie and a big kiss’ Christina tells Aggie, and Aggie speedily replied enthusiastically with ‘For me?’ The relationship between Gerry and Agnes is quite ambiguous, for there seems to be a love interest, but we are never actually told in the play. She is also very protective against Kate on his behalf, ‘His name is Gerry…Gerry…Gerry’. At this point, him being there in the play has caused perhaps rivalry between sisters.
But as a woman, she perhaps exists as a character to prove that even having a man in your life does not make life easier or happier.
The most important thing to consider, when trying to solve his importance in the play, is would Gerry Evans be missed in the play if he wasn’t there? I consider that he would definitely be missed. Its hard to imagine that the character of Gerry Evans not being there. Would the play be better if the Gerry Evans was replaced with Danny Bradley instead?
In stage terms, Gerry Evans is the character the audience does talk about when the curtain comes down and will probably be remembered long after the performance. He does exist for dramatic role in order for the story/the play to at frequent flow and in existence between the relationships and attitudes of the main characters.