I watched this in recording from the 2017 Royal Court production. You can watch it here until April 24.
This is a gut punch of a play. Funny, shocking, dark, David Ireland examines personal identity and how it is deeply intertwined with a sense of where you are from. The story focuses on Eric, an older male who grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, whose very identity is defined by them. He actively defines as NOT Irish, as NOT Fenian, while struggling with a new world where those older tensions are relaxed. It is a meditation on masculinity, on systemic and inherited violence.
Vicky Featherstone’s direction surprises, managing the pace of the story and time shifts in a way that creates jarring moments. We are lulled into believing we’re in one place then quickly jolted to another. The square, white playing space is increasingly messy as the play goes on and the tension escalates, leaving a clear and visible mark, representative of the invisible marks the violence of his youth has left on Eric.
The ensemble are uniformly strong, each bringing a balance to surround Stephen Rea’s riveting and powerful performance. The miniscule and momentary shifts in his performance are truly stunning.
I won’t say more for risk of revealing the surprises in the text. Just watch.