This high-stakes Dublin drama with Faustian tension is back in London for its 20th anniversary, in a compact, new and exciting production.Rating
Excellent
As award-winning writer of Girl from the North Country and The Weir, Conor McPherson is known as one of Ireland’s greatest modern playwrights. Now, 20 years after it was first staged at the National Theatre and after a previous run at Putney Arts Theatre, a new production of his play The Seafarer comes to Greenwich Theatre.
In a coastal suburb of Dublin, the battleground for a man’s soul is decidedly ordinary. The performance is grounded in a cohesively staged set by Simon Crump: a living space that feels settled-in by men who live their lives within the walls without any feeling of cosiness. Quite rooted in reality, it reflects the slightly fractured lives of those who occupy the space.
This new production, directed by Ian Higham, heavily leans into the brilliance of McPherson’s writing. A small, five-man cast conjures a massive sense of history. The event of a Christmas Eve game of poker is a clever and unassuming way of inviting a group of men into a highly emotive space. Their interactions carry the weight of mistakes, traumas, resentments and brotherhood. It’s the perfect setting, the table where friends historically gather to drink, gamble and let their guards down – but just enough to reveal the parts of themselves they keep to themselves.
The dialogue has a natural flow that captures the cadence of Irish English, sounding less like scripted lines and more like a true dynamic between family and friends. The characters speak in the way that real families do, dropping snippets of genuine exposed feeling which they quickly cover up with jokes, and deflect with teasing.
The cast all give strong characterisations, dividing up some of the play’s heavy lifting as they do. Most of the comedy is brought deftly by Ivan (James Ross Turner), Nicky (Nick Thomas) and Richard (Ian Cooke), but their performances become elevated in the sudden moments of vulnerability that come up as the cards are dealt. Cooke is a standout, his comedic timing contrasting with the character’s physical susceptibility.
At the same time, Sharky (Eugene Duffy) and the mysterious newcomer Mr Lockhart (Matthew Flexman) bring the real drama. The card game introduces the perfect atmosphere for an exhumed Faustian deal from long ago to resurface. The tension between the two men holds firm the play’s supernatural undertones in reality.
The Seafarer in its new incarnation proves that you don’t need a big cast or a lavish set to build a massive world. All we need and are graciously given is a lived-in space, a deck of cards, and a past that refuses to stay in the past.
Written by Conor McPherson
Directed by Ian Higham
Set and Costume Design by Simon Crump
Lighting Design by Martin Jessop
Sound Design by Nick Wells
Produced by Colour Noise
The Seafarer plays at Greenwich Theatre until Saturday 24 October.
