Reviews

Physical theatre has to be done well to work.  Exceptionally well - not one false move, which makes this play all the more amazing, The Corn Exchange have come up with something so extreme, with exaggerated gestures, melodramatic style and mask like faces, yet all that artifice, almost unbearably, conveys genuine emotion. Few productions have been so successful in the delicate counterpointing of outrageous comedy and darkest tragedy.

Summing it all up, the word ‘anarchic’ is exactly right, given the plot: when King George comes to Dublin in 1904, not all its inhabitants see the visit as cause for celebration.  For instance, Willy Hayes is completely wrapped up with his new theatre company, The Irish National Theatre of Ireland (so good he named it twice) and Eva St John, star of his play, ‘The Wooing of Emer’, completely wrapped up in him (along with the premiere, feminist causes, Mother Ireland and Doing Good Works).  But what’s that Frank is carefully packing into brother William’s Gladstone bag?

Dublin by Lamplight is at the Playhouse

The plot, though convoluted, is exquisitely dovetailed, while its dark undercurrent inexorably rises, expertly aided and abetted by the use of lighting as well as music from a silent screen piano. With no scenery other than a forbidding brick wall as backdrop, or props, it’s all down to the cast, and what an amazing job they do.  Somehow, all those golden oldies from Commedia dell’Arte and Victorian Music Hall are burnished anew and work wonderfully: addressing the audience rather than each other; using the third person (which also magically conjures up Dublin before your very eyes); flamboyant gestures.  Even cartoon staples - eyes popping out of your head, are vividly realised; Louis Lovert as Willy Hayes has a positive genius for this, and his perfectly idiotic Laughing Policeman has to be seen to be believed.  Tom Jordan Murphy as Martyn, an Act-or who is camper than a van, dazzles in a variety of supporting roles (from industrious Mammy to sleazy stagehand), so much so, he is almost unrecognizable. 

The other players shine too, particularly with the switchback of twists and turns; laughter one minute, tears the next. Tadhg Murphy, devious Frank sporting the look of a Samurai, love-lorn Jimmy Finnegan (Paul Reid), desperate to win back seamstress Maggie (Janet Moran). There is also a delightful contrast, or rather, rivalry, between this vivid heroine, desperately in love with Frank, and the splendidly spiky, haughty Eva (Karen Egan).

So, will William’s play make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, or least past managing to survive on a single sausage for his lunch?  Does Maggie choose stage or kitchen range?  And will somebody take Martyn to one side and gently point out that purple suit and lime accessories with red hair is not very stylish?  Only one way to find out: you pay your money, and take pleasure in seeing a choice piece of theatre.  Ah, go on, go on - beg, borrow or steal a ticket, but don’t miss this play.