Hothouse – Project Arts Centre, Dublin

Writer: Carys D. Coburn

Director: Claire O’Reilly

All aboard for MALAPROP Theatre Company’s sensational voyage to the Arctic Circle on the Crystal Prophecy Cruise Ship. Navigated by their fabulously flamboyant Captain, the passengers will “bid farewell to the ice”, even though “most of it is already gone”.

The ensemble cast launch head first into spectacular opening scenes worthy of London’s West End. Peter Conroy’s “extravagantly homosexual” Captain and narrator is reminiscent of Baz Luhrman’s Master of Ceremonies ‘Harold Zidler’ in the film Moulin Rouge, as he introduces a series of acts featuring the all singing and dancing “Showbirds”. Throughout the cabaret he will gleefully and grotesquely execute each feathered and sequinned avian specimen in turn.

Molly O’Cathain’s vision for the set and costumes is spectacularly realised in an ‘Austin Powers’ like, orange-hued extravaganza. The Captain hopes the bawdy simulation of an orgasm by one of the dancers has “prepared” us “all to get weird”. Thommas Kane Byrne is an absolute howl tottering on to the stage as ‘Madame Rabbit’ and as a gloriously glamorous humpback whale, regurgitating plastic. Similarly, he lights up the stage each time he appears as an hilariously camp burlesque-performing showbird.

But this is a play of two parts. On the one hand you have a dazzling showboat adventure as the means of exhibiting the terrifying effects of climate change and on the other you have the story of Ruth, her mother, Barbara, father and daughter Ali, played to perfection by Ghaliah Conroy, Thommas Kane Byrne, Bláithín Mac Gabhann and Maeve O’Mahony, respectively. Theirs is a familiar tale of alcoholism and abuse repeated down through the generations. This parallel plot line feels like it was written by a different hand. It is less impactful. And while the heartfelt scene between Ali and a fellow passenger addresses serious and sombre issues, it feels superfluous. The pace of the production lags somewhat in this section of the play but recovers when the ship hits an iceberg and action resumes.

Chaos and hysteria abound on the sinking vessel compliments of El Theodorou on sound and John Gunning on lighting. Composer and musician, Anna Clock has put together a truly wonderful score for Hothouse. From music by, among others, Bye Bye Birdie Ensemble, Lally Stott, Enya, Julie Covington and Sinead O’Connor, to her own songs, she has further enriched the whole production. Claire O’Reilly, Caoimhe Whelan, Malaprop, and the entire creative and technical crews have done an amazing job in bringing Carys D. Coburn’s marvellous script to fruition.

In an imagined tableau of a dystopian future, climate change has decimated our planet but thankfully, humanity prevails. “I scream, therefore I am. I am, therefore I scream”. “For the first time in 16 million years the skies are silent.” In their beautiful voices, singing words written by Clock, the cast pay homage to all the birds that are now extinct. It is a haunting finale.

Reviewed 19th April 2025.