Writer: Nancy Harris
Director: Ellen Buckley
Nancy Harris fans are in for a real treat with this production of No Romance: A Desperate Business currently running in Bewley’s Café Theatre. Most recently lauded for her screenwriting talents thanks to TV show The Dry, Harris’s work as a playwright has been just as successful. No Romance was her celebrated Abbey debut when it premiered on the Peacock stage in 2011 as a three-act play, but theatre goers may be more familiar with Somewhere Out There You, which had a successful run on the main stage in 2023. While this is the second act of three, No Romance: A Desperate Business stands alone perfectly, though you may be left wanting more when the lights go down.
John Cronin as Joe and Clara FitzGerald as Carmel perform this two hander wonderfully, with a prickly chemistry that makes them a believable married couple of 24 years. Arriving early at the funeral home for the removal of Joe’s mother, they have more to discuss than expected, with Clara pushing Joe to reveal himself, before finally sharing some secrets of her own. Cronin delivers well pitched bluster, vacillating between frustration and a keen desire for propriety; he’s a pleasure to watch. FitzGerald slowly reveals the layers of Clara’s character over the course of 50 minutes; the desire for intimacy, as well as the disbelief, the simmering rage, and the accumulation of small grievances.
Ronan Duffy’s set is simple but well thought out. The curtained walls and cushioned seats seem plucked from any classic funeral home, but the oh so current pink neon “Rest In Peace” sign above the coffin is fantastic touch that feels as out of place as the conversation that is taking place; a reflection of the juxtaposition between the modernity of their daughter’s desire to share her life online and the closed doors of a more traditional Irish past that mean Joe’s mother remains a mystery to him in death as in life.
This is an excellent addition to the stage upstairs in Bewley’s, and well suited to both a lunchtime theatre break and an evening visit. Comedic and a bit acerbic, short but punchy, with plenty of insight to turn the audience’s gaze inwards, and a truly talented performance from two compelling actors; perhaps one this theatre’s strongest offerings yet.
Runs until 15th March 2025.
