IrelandReview

Billy Boggins: A Bathroom Story – Bewley’s Café Theatre, Dublin

Reviewer: Emma Devlin

Writer: Gary Cooke

Director: Bairbre Ní Chaoimh

This month sees the stage in Bewley’s Café Theatre transformed into the office of Boggins’ Bathrooms showroom, a family run affair in the M50 Business Park. Gary Cooke of Après Match fame is a double threat as writer and star of this one-man show, playing the somewhat soured second son of the business-cum-part-time football manager of the under 12s local team, as well as a host of additional characters.

Over the course of the hour Billy Boggins tells the story of how he found himself on a frantic journey from his brother’s second in command to the captain of a rival’s ship, exploring family dynamics, the ethics of taking a dive to win a match, and harking back to a perhaps not so buried Celtic Tiger era. Oh, and selling the audience on the virtues of the multi-function toilet.

The writing is creative and genuinely funny, throwing up plenty for Dubliners to laugh at, and Cooke uses some cute plot devices to take the story in a direction you might not be expecting. Each character is distinct, and the principal ones are well fleshed out, which is quite impressive given the 55-minute run time. Amongst the laughs, Cooke throws in a few more vulnerable moments, some of which come off quite sweetly, while others feel a little out of place given the otherwise light-hearted tone, but all in all it’s a well put together story that flies along.

Colm Maher continues to use the lighting in the theatre to great effect, seamlessly creating separate spaces on the stage and matching the tonal shifts, and Brendan Keogh’s set is simple but effective, with good use of props.

Cooke’s character work is excellent; what may at first seem like a few nerves from the actor turn out to be the halting hesitancy of Billy, which then flows effortlessly into Ed’s confidence, into Bobby’s bluster, into Lars’ nerves at the prospect of a visit from Tusla, and back to Billy again. Alongside this he pulls off some spot on regional as well as international accents. It’s a solid success of a one man show for Cooke, and he proves to be a very entertaining storyteller. Certainly worth a look in on your lunch break.

Runs Until 19th October 2024.

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The Ireland team is currently under the editorship of Laura Marriott. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.

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