Monged, The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry until 1st December
Coventry
MONGED
by Gary Duggan
Belgrade Theatre: B2: To 1 December 2007.
Mon-Sat 8pm Mat Sat & 28 Nov 2.45pm.
Post-show discussion 26 Nov.
Runs: 1hr 30min No interval.
TICKETS: 024 7655 3055.
www.belgrade.co.uk
Review: Jan Pick 13 November.
Dublin Trip.
Dublin in July; the evenings are long, the weather fine. It’s Friday night with the weekend ahead and three apparently ordinary young men, Dave, a labourer on a building site, Ray, a barman and Bernard an office worker in an insurance company, are looking forward to getting absolutely ‘monged’ on a weekend-long bender.
But they are young men with dreams. Ray dreams of being a musician, Bernard a writer and Dave, rather bizarrely, a drug dealer. Monged, the first full-length play by writer Gary Duggan, is a closely observed, beautifully written piece of Dublin social comment. Darkly witty, perceptive, and - in some ways - tragic, the play is essentially three monologues through which each of the characters share their internal thoughts, hopes and fears, whilst interacting socially with each other as they embark on a summer weekend bender fuelled by drink and drugs. The landscape of Dublin is explored as they ricochet around the city’s open spaces, riverside and clubs, and as they finally stagger back to reality each has discovered things about themselves that may change their lives – or not.
Staged in the Belgrade’s studio space, B2, Sabine Dargent’s set, open to the back wall, resembles a junk yard or industrial site, working on two layers, the raised section representing the park and club, the lower, Dave’s digs and the canal. Characters move between the upper level, which seems in some way to represent their dreams, and the lower, where their lives seem grounded in sordid reality. All three actors are excellent: Darren Healy as Dave, the wannabe drug dealer, superficially streetwise, defensive and aggressive, yet underneath, vulnerable, Barry Ward as Ray, whose dream of being a musician is already waning, in some ways the most difficult role as less immediately sympathetic, and Sam O’Mahoney-Adams as the loveable, innocent Bernard. The play, a UK premiere, is sensitively directed by Jim Culleton, and Arnim Friess's lighting is beautiful; particularly the night time sky dotted with stars. A thought-provoking and lively evening.
Dave: Darren Healy.
Ray: Barry Ward.
Bernard: Sam O’Mahoney-Adams.
Director: Jim Culleton.
Designer: Sabine Dargent.
Lighting: Arnim Friess.
Sound: Ivan Birthistle, Vincent Doherty.
2007-11-19 15:12:09