Writer: Gina Donnelly
Director: Gina Donnelly & Tony Devlin
Anthem for Dissatisfaction will not be for absolutely everyone, but it’s undeniable that if you’ve ever had a sibling, lost a parent, loved a song, loved a band, felt that anything was possible because of a great song, been poor, been young, been older, or gotten through a tough spell because of the presence of one person, you’ll find something to identify with, latch onto, and even cherish in it.
Jamie (Simon Sweeney) and Sarah (Emily Lamey) are Irish twins, with the barely older Sarah guiding him through his musical education – Reverend & the Makers, Oasis, and the Manic Street Preachers are the key bands that form their bond, as they cherish raw working class expression in post-2008 Belfast. We see their journey to maturity, with their favourite bands literally soundtracking the story – “Design for Life”, “Heavyweight Champion of the World”, “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, “Common People”, and towards the end, hits by Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac are blared through speakers.
Both are captivating stage presences, with Sarah very much the older sibling, keen to direct and scold Jamie, who can’t help from worrying about his drama classes when he finds out that his parents have lost their jobs. This makes for really beautiful interactions between the pair, who grow from early teens to late-twenties over 75 minutes, with the essence of their characters and relationships never wavering; we always know precisely know who and where they are. They address the audience constantly, but it never feels untheatrical or like a lecture – from class awakening to the death of their father, they are never not bold and expressive, creating the other spaces and people around them.
That the characters have early obsession with Oasis could barely have been more perfectly timed, and a section that dealt with the extortionate cost of Bruce Springsteen tickets in 2007 was also eerily apt; they weren’t always dynamically priced, sometimes they were just a rip-off.
At times it’s scattered, though there is a lot of life and music to get through (the section on Fleetwood Mac felt a bit tacked on, mind), and the almost-bare staging means that with a less kinetic and charismatic duo it may not be been so watchable, but writer and co-director Gina Donnelly never loses focus on the humans at the heart of her story, and life itself.
Runs Until 13th September 2024.
The Review's Hub Score
Euphoric, real, brutal
