Reviews

The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Reviewed by Tanya Dean on 28 July 2009 22 July – 19 September, 2009 in Abbey Theatre

When The Rivals premiered in London on the 17th of January 1775, author Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s prologue to this tale of misconstrued love took the form of a conversation between a Sergeant-at-Law and an Attorney, appealing to the audience as ‘jury’ to give the play a fair trial....

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The Hostage by Brendan Behan

Reviewed by Fintan Walsh on 27 July 2009 21 July – 16 August, 2009 in The Pearse Centre, Dublin

Brendan Behan’s The Hostage is rarely performed, and Wonderland’s recovery reminds us why. The play that began as An Giall, and premiered at the Damer theatre, Dublin in 1957, was subsequently translated into English by Behan, and later developed further by Joan Littleword for her Theatre...

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Blackbird by David Harrower

Reviewed by Sara Keating on 25 July 2009 13 – 25 July, 2009 in Nun's Island Theatre, Galway

It is a misfortune that Decadent Theatre should choose to produce David Harrower’s play Blackbird so soon after its Irish premiere in 2007: a memorable production by Landmark Theatre Company, which made national headlines because of its controversial subject matter. Comparisons between the productions...

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Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett

Reviewed by Matthew Harrison on 22 July 2009 13 – 26 July, 2009 in NUIG Bank of Ireland Theatre, as part of Galway Arts Festival

Revolutionary? Obtuse? Bleak? There are several tattered tags attached to Samuel Beckett. For Irish audiences, the name reverberates in a manner similar to the Bard’s across the water: a nationally celebrated and iconic playwright but one who is a tad intimidating. There must also be a couple of...

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The Gigli Concert by Tom Murphy

Reviewed by Patrick Lonergan on 20 July 2009 14 - 25 July, 2009 in Druid Theatre

One of the clichés of Irish theatre historiography is that drama in this country is excessively verbal – that our dramatists write for the voice, but not for the body. But if you actually go to the theatre here, it soon becomes obvious that the distinction between text and movement is a false one....

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Present Laughter by Noël Coward

Reviewed by Fintan Walsh on 16 July 2009 14 July – 5 September, 2009 in The Gate Theatre

Written in 1939, Noël Coward’s drawing-room farce focuses on the life of aging matinée idol Garry Essendine (Brennan). Just weeks before he is due to tour in Africa, Essendine becomes a victim of his own vanity and posturing, as women and men throw themselves at his feet, marvelling at his good...

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DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) by Dennis Kelly

Reviewed by Claire-Louise Bennett on 15 July 2009 14 - 25 July, 2009, as part of Galway Arts Festiva in Nun's Island Theatre

Given the increase in violent behaviour within and between teenage gangs, group dynamics and the processes of adolescent cruelty is an especially topical concern. It’s also a contentious, sensitive issue. Thoughtful analysis in the media is often eclipsed by emotive campaigns, characterised by...

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All Over Town by Phillip McMahon

Reviewed by Harvey O'Brien on 24 June 2009 22 - 27 June, 2009 in Project Arts Centre, as part of Queer Notions

Seán (Dylan Kennedy) is young, gay, and eager to free himself of the baggage of his life in Ireland. A prosaic family goodbye at the airport and he’s on his way to Australia by way of Bangkok: forced to wear the Dublin jersey his mother has given him as a going away present because its made of...

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Hollander by John McCarthy, Ciaran O Conaill and Sara-Jane Power

Reviewed by Rachel Andrews on 23 June 2009 17 – 27 June, 2009 (extra dates: 30 June – 04 July in 8 North Mall, Cork, as part of Cork Midsummer Festival

As was the case with Hammergrin Theatre’s 2008 production for the Cork Midsummer Festival, one suspects there is a coherent narrative underlying this year’s tale of the strange and wondrous Hollander House on Cork’s North Mall. However, this is a play with so many interludes, diversions...

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Red Lola by Asylum Productions

Reviewed by Rachel Andrews on 22 June 2009 17 – 28 June, 2009 in Triskel Arts Centre, as part of Cork Midsummer Festival

One of the more charming productions at the 2008 Cork Midsummer Festival was a non-verbal piece of work that explored theatre as joyous fantasy and magical possibility. Devised by Asylum Productions, Cleaner, which offered us a glimpse into the life of a bored housemaid, made use of mime, puppetry and...

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