Writer: John Millington Synge
Director: Aaron Monaghan
Almost 120 years after its first staging at the Abbey Theatre, J.M. Synge’s masterpiece, The Playboy of the Western World is revived this evening by Cavan’s ‘Livin Dred Theatre Company’.
Known to many of us from our school days, this three act comedic play depicts the rise and fall of a stranger, Christy Mahon, whose fascinating tale of having murdered his violent father enthralls the community of a rural Mayo village, only for him to fall sharply from grace when his progenitor turns up alive.
The lights go up on Éilish McLaughlin as Pegeen Mike sitting quietly on a low stool, but it is the provocatively curious set from designer Naomi Faughnan to which our eyes are drawn. While predominantly faithful to Synge’s vision of an early 20th century spirit grocers, her reimagining includes an irregularly shaped but geometrically striking, gable wall end and use of white LED strip lighting to create outlines. It is an elegant, contemporary autograph.
McLaughlin is commanding as the comely 20 year old daughter of publican, Michael James, expertly played by Jack Olohan. Clearly exasperated by the piety and cowardice of her betrothed, Shawn Keogh, the efficient and feisty but romantically inclined barmaid is ripe for the picking. And Naoise Dunbar’s elegiac and charismatic Christy Mahon does not disappoint.
The whole cast is a joy. To a person, they make Synge’s lyrical dialogue sing. Colin Campbell as Shawn Keogh and Amelia Crowley as Widow Quin, in particular, are superb. Each inhabits their character with a technical and intuitive proficiency that is masterful.
My only criticism of the ensemble is that when raised voices were called for on two or three occasions, the projection became borderline shouting or screeching making it hard to understand the lines.
Artistic Director, Aaron Monaghan, has previously played the lead role of Christy Mahon under the directorship of Garry Hynes at Druid Theatre Company and so brings considerable experience to the table. His in-depth knowledge of this play lends great insight as to how it might best be produced, directed and performed. Monaghan’s attention to detail is remarkable. The pacing of the piece, including the actors comic timing, is impeccable and the scenes flow like a series of beautiful tableaux. Music, lighting, and costume enhance proceedings seamlessly.
It is sad to think this behemoth of a play was greeted by such outrage and hostility in 1907. Fuelled by nationalists, rioters protested that The Playboy of the Western World was a slight on Irish women and that Synge, of Anglo-Irish ancestry, was ridiculing the native Irish. Today, we can only cherish the snapshots captured so succinctly by the playwright of the people who lived along the West coast of Ireland around the turn of the 19th Century. It is their stories, songs, quips and banter, so rooted in the wild Irish landscape, that have inspired his great works.
Reward yourself with the thoroughly enriching experience of going to see this show!
Runs Until 15th February 2025.
The Review's Hub Score
A bubbling cauldron of talent!
