THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN. To 15 November.

Oxford.

THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN
by Martin McDonagh.

Oxford Playhouse To 15 November2008.
Tue-Thu; Sat 7.30pm Fri 8pm Mat Thu & Sat 2.30pm
Runs 2hr 30min One interval.

TICKETS: 01865 305305.
www.oxfordplayhouse.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 12 November.

Fine Irish play revived by major Irish theatre company.
One of these characters has several eggs broken over his head. He’s lucky. As an outburst of violence it’s quietly civilised compared to similar moments in other Martin McDonagh plays, with their mix of cruelty and humour. Cripple itself swings – in the end almost vertiginously – between pathos and bathos.

McDonagh’s 1934 Inishmaan is a place where Irish dramatic motifs are viewed askance and expectations punctured. The repetitive speech patterns between Crippled Billy’s elderly aunts suggest a life where conversations have time to grow. It’s contrasted by the abrupt jumps of the young, especially Helen, whose assaults on others of her generation suggest her emotional restlessness.

Characters here have strange or sinister obsessions; one encourages his mother to drink herself to death, one stares at cows, another enthuses about telescopes, yet another talks to a stone. But all are accepted by others and find audience sympathy. When Billy asks not to be called ‘Cripple’ there’s no sentimentality; he’s expressing a natural dignity rather than showing distress.

There’s unpredictability also; an apparent moment of reconciliation turns to deliberate violence (a part of life here). In contrast, a character can continue on an inevitable course for collision with someone’s fist.

Yet all the quarrels, impatience and volatility exist within a coherent, self-sustaining community. The solid shelves of the aunts’ shop, with its muted colours and small variety of stock speaking of the settled community, makes the point in Francis O’Connor’s set.

It’s when the Yanks come filming and take Billy back to Hollywood that this is disrupted. During the play, the shop opens up for several other scenes, but only the picture of sick Billy in a dark and lonely Californian bedroom, a HOTEL sign like a garish strip of blood outside, shows the suffering of isolation. Along with the unseen film-makers demands for new brands of American sweets indicate a larger world encroaching.

Garry Hynes’ revival for Druid Theatre Company threads clearly through the delicate balance of character, understanding the implications in McDonagh’s script. With fine performances, especially Aaron Monaghan’s physical and emotional precision as Billy, it makes a rich evening’s drama.

Helen: Kerry Condon.
Babbybobby: Andrew Connolly.
Bartley: Laurence Kinlan.
Eileen: Dearbhla Molloy.
Billy: Aaron Monaghan.
Kate: Marie Mullen.
Mammy: Patricia O’Connell.
Johnnypateenmike: David Pearse.
Doctor: John C Vennema.

Director: Garry Hynes.
Designer/Costume: Francis O’Connor.
Lighting: Davy Cunningham.
Sound: John Leonard.
Composer: Colin Towns.
Movement adviser: Mikel Murfi.
Wigs/Make-up: Val Sherlock.

2008-11-13 11:11:58