Review: Dudley Road, Union Theatre
An enjoyable play about family interactions, parental influences and the long term consequences of behaviour and decisions.summary
Rating
Good
Sitting in his Ronnie Corbett style armchair we are introduced to Paul Corcoran (James Finnegan) who is, and has been, helping himself to the rapidly depleting store of whiskey set aside for his daughter Anne’s (Anna Georgina) wedding. Paul has a family of about eight children and although we hear about most of them over the course of the play we only actually meet four. It is through their interactions and conversations with Paul that we learn about his character. He is well written as a self-centred, selfish, manipulative bully, not at all self-aware and blaming everyone else for all his woes – perceived or otherwise. He insists that ‘…this is my house, and what I say goes.’, expecting his family to run around after him despite his wife about to give birth and one daughter only eight years old. We only get a glimpse of what appears to be his one redeeming feature in the second half when he plays at ships with one of his children. Even then he is the Captain, obviously.
As the play progresses, we see how Paul is affecting the lives and choices of his children, most of whom leave or are pushed away. The timeline of events spans several years and it’s not always immediately clear just how long has passed between scenes. These time jumps mean a recurring cycle of the same family arguments and conversations. Whilst this obviously replicates real life, it gets a bit repetitive without the benefit of the intervening years. There are several family members mentioned in passing without any further information and I was left intrigued about the circumstances of the deaths of Paul’s wife and daughter. Was domestic abuse involved? It’s ironic that the importance of family is mentioned several times by characters who then proceed to leave, ignoring the plight of other family members.
Hannah Schlenker’s set is interesting with designs that looked like dead trees, or possibly bones, skeletons in cupboards maybe. A gossamer curtain is used effectively for some shadow acting including a particularly poignant scene reminiscing of happier times. The sound levels of background music are sometimes too loud and although piped in smoke is atmospheric you can have too much of a good thing.
There are moments of humour, not least the ridiculously too short trousers Cameron Corcoran wears as a surly teenage Michael. Shout out to Charlie Culley for her portrayal of a 12 year old Claire who has obviously had to grow up too fast but still has a child-like naivety. A mention also for Daragh Cushen whose Padraic starts as a young man with hope and rosy expectation then transforms into someone with disgruntled resignation. It is a shame he is only in two scenes.
A little bit rambling and unsatisfying with more questions than answers, this could do with a general tightening up and perhaps exploring fewer aspects in more depth. It is though still an enjoyable play touching on interesting themes around family interactions, and posing some thought-provoking questions about familial relationships and a parent’s influence.
Written by: Cameron Corcoran
Directed by: Simon Pilling
Set and Costume Design: Hannah Schlenker
Dudley Road plays at the Union Theatre until Friday 17th January. Further information and booking are available here.