Writer: James Joyce
Directors: Jim Riche and Liam Hourican
This evocative lunch time play is a rare theatrical delight that is captivating throughout. The work as part of the Bloomsday festival, is a dramatization of two short stories from James Joyce’s debut collection, Dubliners first published in 1914, when he was only in his twenties. Through literary realism in the interconnecting stories in Dubliners, Joyce presents an insight into early twentieth century Dublin society, its struggles, mundanity and the ‘quiet desperation’ of everyday lives. Dubliners remains to this day, a masterpiece of modernist literature.
Liam Hourican and Jim Roche are founding members of Volta theatre company, named, I am sure, in memory of Ireland’s first cinema which was set up by Joyce in Mary Street in 1909 with funding from Italy. The duo, both accomplished veteran actors, adapted, directed, and performed in each dramatized story.
Over the course of the one-hour duration, the two stories were played on a sparse stage with low key lighting. Little Cloud and Counterparts share similar themes and tropes, the ennui, monotonous existence and thwarted dreams of lowly ‘pen pushers’, far down the pecking order in the great cogs of Dublin’s workplaces. Presentations were accompanied with live music which also served to add atmosphere and intersperse performances. Even before the show started, nostalgic melodies of another time wafted through the audience space creating mood. As we waited for curtain up in the intimate space of Bewley’s Café Theatre we were entranced by the charming music of Feilimidh Nunan and Conor Sheil (keyboard and clarinet) who played on a dais to one side of the stage.
Hourican deftly performs a medley of different characters in A Little Cloud, bringing each to life with vocal and physical virtuosity and the clever use of stage objects. Thomas Chandler, a shy clerk and something of a dullard, works in Kings Inn. Aptly befitting the sobriquet, ‘Little Chandler’, his whole life is about reticence and playing it safe. He never asserts himself, and even keeps his dream of becoming an acclaimed poet a secret. Chandler goes to meet an old friend, Ignatius Gallagher who has long moved on to brighter pastures and now has a prestigious position in the press in London. Employing the stage space to great effect and with excellent articulation of the poetic language of dialogue, Hourican takes us on a journey through the streets of Dublin by foot and by tram. The two men meet in Corless’s, a bohemian establishment whose waiting staff are bilingual. Hourican plays both characters, Chandler and Gallagher expertly, heightening the comedic elements and the passion. Chandler both admires and is disgusted by Gallagher who is loud, boastful and somewhat uncouth. The perfect foil for Chandler’s timidity, Gallagher seemingly has everything that Chandler lacks. Even their personal lives are completely different. Chandler appears trapped in marriage with a domineering wife. In contrast, Gallagher loves his freedom but may consider marrying one of several very interested, wealthy ladies.
In Counterparts Jim Roche portrays Farrington, another lowly clerk. Farrington is work shy, bad tempered and punctuates his working day with trips to the pub, to ‘slake the thirst in his throat’. His boss, Mr. Alleyne, excellently played by Roche, with shrill replication of his Northern Ireland accent, berates him angrily. What follows in the monologue is the colourful interaction of the rest of Farrington’s day. We witness his evening’s drinking spree funded by pawning his watch, and his shenanigans in pubs with an array of drinking buddies, until he grumpily returns home to his family taking his temper out on his young son. Again, Roche’s handling of the dialogue’s lyrical language and his expert vocal technique brought place and character to life.
In total, these brilliantly performed dramas do not portray charming vistas of polite Dublin society, they are imbued with the gritty realism and stark reality of the lives of working men and families at the time. This is a slice of Dubliners on stage at its best. I urge you, don’t miss out, treat yourself, go and see one of the most vivid and enjoyable interpretations of Joyce’s Dublin!
Runs Until 16th June 2025.
