Stage - MAI DAY

IN THE last issue of Hot Press we previewed the play which turned out to be the most universally-acclaimed production of the Dublin Theatre Festival: Marina Carr’s The Mai, which is still running at the Peacock Theatre.

Having since seen the production I must now add that it comes with the highest possible recommendation, particularly to anyone who wants a mercilessly sharp set of insights into the feminine psyche. Indeed, every man in Ireland should be forced to see this play and to marvel, in particular, at the terrifyingly real performance by Olwen Fouere in the title role.

It’s a performance which also made this dumb writer totally reverse his earlier suggestion that Fouere seemed to lack the sexual dynamic necessary to fire her part in Wilde’s Salome. Here, her eroticism is sigh-inducing, particularly to musicians who also will be breathing in time with Michéal Ó Súilleabháin’s deeply resonant score. Apart from offering to pay for all readers to attend this masterpiece there really isn’t much more I can say about The Mai. See it or die denied one of life’s great theatrical experiences.

Hailed as “impassioned, incendiary” and “likely to provoke more arguments than any other play this year” by the New York Times, David Mamet’s powerful Oleanna opens at the Gate Theatre on November 1st. Destined to be as muscular as the scripts Mamet wrote for movies like The Untouchables, Oleanna focuses on the thorny question of political correctness. Set in a contemporary American college campus it deals with issues like sexism, sexual harassment, elitism and classism in a style that sharply divided audiences in London and New York.

With the recent publication, by the Department of Equality and Law Reform, of a Code of Practice outlining “measures to protect the dignity of women and men at work” the play is obviously relevant to current developments within Irish society. In this context it would have been preferable if the play had opened in time for the Dublin Theatre Festival which was definitely damaged by the absence of any input from either the Gate or the Abbey’s main stage. Directed by Ben Barnes, it stars Dana Bledso and Stanley Townsend with set design by Eileen Diss, costume design by Joan O’Clery and lighting design by Rupert Murray. One not to be missed.

Addressing similar issues in a more specifically Irish context is Declan Crogan’s play Refugees which gets its world premiere at Dublin’s Eblana Theatre on October 28th. More than specifically Irish, this production is staged by Northside Theatre Company who were originally founded with the aim of producing works which accurately reflect life on the north side of Dublin city, which they previously did, to resounding success, with their last play Dublin Cowboys.

This time round, the comedy is set in a women’s refuge on Christmas Eve and follows the night’s experience of seven women as they prepare to celebrate Christmas. Beneath the layers of comedy, however, are “stark moments of social comment on issues such as domestic violence, abortion, incest, prostitution and sexual abuse.” A play that obviously deserves support.