Getting straight into it, I think this was a very good play and well worth seeing. Set in Mountjoy Prison, the production isn’t flashy or bold but slow and patient. There is a haunting emptiness to the space created on stage, allowing the characters to bounce off the monotony of incarceration as echoes and ghosts of the human spirit around which the cold, plain prison walls gather and squeeze.
The cast consisting solely of women and non-binary people playing the male characters goes unnoticed. That’s the point; the show as a whole is not limited by any variation of genders within the cast or how they differ from those of the characters- the play’s focus is entirely on the gender of the character, not that of the actor. This casting choice is deliberate and deliberately unaddressed; it is not a bold statement by the play’s casting director, but is instead an enjoyable example of the possibilities within performance art. The performance is the bottom line. In talking about the casting here, in drawing attention to it, I’m missing the point that it needn’t be a noticeable factor. In any case, this production and its creative choices are all about the performances and the story of The Quare Fellow.
The set design was very impressive. The play begins in a small corridor of cells that later expands before your very eyes to become the prison courtyard with a view into two floors of cell corridors. These two spaces captured the austerity of prison life and turned all eyes longingly towards the characters for some alleviation of the monotony. Here, there was shelter from the storm.
The actors were strong across the board, with standout roles in warden “Regan” and the prisoner “Neighbour”, played by Clare Barrett and Gina Moxley respectively. These were the most impactful voices of the difficulties faced by each side of the prison in the play. Chloe O’Reilly’s vocal performance is also worth noting for its tormented beauty. The chemistry was immediate between all the inmates in their various friendships and rivalries. Through the austerity of the characters’ environment shines the humour, sorrow, and humanity of the characters. The play moves from a focus on the prisoners in the first act to a broader engagement with all the main characters, following the warders, officers, and governor throughout the second act. This hammers home the sense that the day-to-day experience of life in prison has dominion over the prisoners and officers alike.
Between the minimal set design, the charismatic performances, and the haunting use of sound design and music, including some powerful live singing and use of Dick Shannon’s now famous song ‘The Auld Triangle’, this production of Brendan Behan’s play is a sombre success.
The Quare Fellow continues its run in the Abbey Theatre Dublin until the 27th of January.
