Birthright – Finborough Theatre, London

Writer: T. C. Murray

Director: Scott Hurran

Lean and tense, this forgotten play by forgotten writer T. C. Murray packs a punch in its short 60 minutes. Stubbornly unromantic, the Irish Birthright rages like an Old Testament story.

It’s late autumn in rural Ireland in 1910 and the Great Frost is on its way. The Finborough has been turned into a farmhouse parlour; a truly evocative set designed by Raphaella Philcox. A fire glows at the back of the stage and above it, a cheap statue of the Virgin Mary stands on the mantlepiece. Bat Morrissey and his wife Maura are arguing about their two sons.

There are always plenty of tasks that need doing on the farm although only one of the two sons is in tune with the agricultural seasons, knowing what is to be done almost instinctively. But this son is not the elder. Shane is a few years younger and, to his father’s chagrin, will never inherit the farm. It’s a tradition that the eldest son will inherit. Realising that opportunities are scarce in Ireland, Shane has decided to sail to America. Perhaps he will find his place there instead.

Bat says there’s something ‘quare’ about the other son, Hugh, who is out somewhere playing the hurling. He’s an excellent player, captain of the local team and popular with the other villagers and with the new parish priest distrusted for his modern ways. But this sporting prowess doesn’t impress his father. For Bat, only farming matters and compared to Shane, he sees Hugh as nothing more than an idler.

By the end of the discussion about the two young men, we are eager to see them, especially Hugh whose father hates him so vehemently. But Murray makes us wait. We first meet Shane and as this younger brother Peter Broderick is solid but dull; duty has burnt out his fire so long ago that he’s forgotten he ever had one. However, in comparison, Hugh – a marvellously spirited Thomas Fitzgerald – is full of life, still high from his success at the match, a gold medal hanging around his neck. He’s aware of how the farm works, but he wants fun too. This hedonism is at odds with his father’s work ethic in which there is no room for frivolity.

As Bat, Pádraig Lynch has a roar that would intimidate anyone and the power he wields is darkly impressive as he stalks the house like a dog ready at any moment to show its bite. Rosie Armstrong is his wife, cowering under his rule, but eager to save the son she loves more. She shouldn’t have a favourite but it’s clear that she does, despite her protestations.

The final half of Birthright is played out in candlelight and Catja Hamilton’s flickering light design. This decision by director Scott Hurran is an effective one. Only the sudden clumsy end is a let-down. Could there not be a fading of the lights or even a tableau of sorts? Anything, other than the sudden blackout. But despite this slight disappointment, the Finborough is absolutely right to return this firecracker of a play to the stage.

Runs until 30 September 2023