Writer: Philip Ridley
Director: Shaun Elebert
Judder Theatre Company are a long-established small company in Dublin with a reputation for staging small, intense works like Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter, and Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story, so it’s not a surprise that they’ve now gotten round to Philip Ridley’s The Pitchfork Disney. Ridley’s 1991 play is tight and menacing, featuring two characters wiling away their time until they are disturbed by a charismatic, bombastic outsider and his mute companion – yes, the influence of Waiting for Godot is deliberate and unavoidable. In this Shaun Elebert-direction production, some of the gimmicks are a little bit creaky, and the techniques too blatant, but with a charming cast and a detailed, intricate set in the underused Teachers Club, this is a rare opportunity to enjoy a mini modern classic that many will enjoy.
The pair involved are twins, Presley and Haley Stray (Vincent Patrick and Lacy Moore, respectively). They seem to be inhabiting a kind of perpetual childhood, shut off from the world and sustaining themselves on chocolate, sleeping pills, and the elaborate stories they tell each other. Haley seems significantly younger than Patrick, but the script reveals they are twins; this may be down to appearances, the script, or creative decisions made, but it creates an awkward dissonance at times. In their roles, though, Patrick and Moore work well off each other, they are delicate and deliberate with movements and facial expressions, and are both able to express the required vulnerability, fear, and innocence.
Adam Redmond is Cosmo Disney, the “pretty stranger” Presley identified through the window who barges into their house and their lives. Redmond is wicked, from his perfectly coiffed bleach blond hair to the shocking scarlet jacket he reveals under his leather trench coat, and berates an entranced Presley while Haley sleeps. At this point we feel we are in someone’s nightmare, most likely Presley, as his life is interrogated and exposed, little by little. The ending is predictable, but there are truly uncomfortable moments throughout, and Redmond steals almost every second he’s onstage.
Darcie Faccio and James Donnelly have crafted a wonderful set that looks grubby and lived in, but with something slightly off about it. The Teachers Club is a unique venue that lends itself to confined shows about fear and anxiety that roam around its characters’ unconscious – and so is ideal for Judder’s latest production.
Runs Until 5th Sept 2026.
