What I liked
Jennifer Lane Oakley & John Apicella carry this play superbly well. Tyee Tilghman does a great job too and John Harnagel’s rendition of the Ballad is masterful. The characters are well-drawn with complex inner-lives and the writing is superb. I’m impressed by the the fact that I often see plays written by Anglophile American writers who don’t do their research to find out how British/Irish/Scottish people actually talk. David McElwee’s dialogue is very convincing and clearly he’s done his research which is much appreciated. The ambiguous ending is appealing as it leaves us wondering what’s going to happen as their lives continue. I have a sense that the characters are actually out there still dealing with the events of that night…
What I didn't like
As an Anglo-Irish citizen, with a keen ear for accents, I struggled with the wandering accents of a couple of the actors. For the most part it didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the play (the acting was great so that compensated for the accents) but my personal feeling is that if you’re going to do a play that is so very clearly set in a country where the nationality of the characters is crucial to the events of the play, my opinion is that you either need to find actors who are that nationality/accent or if not, then they need to be drilled until they can do the accent impeccably. I also wondered why the line referring to the character’s red hair, when he clearly had black hair, wasn’t changed to match the actor’s appearance. A small point, but for me, it’s the kind of thing that takes an audience out of the action and it wasn’t so important to the plot that it couldn’t have been changed.
My overall impression
A great, strong cast, who worked well together. Completely engaging, I was drawn into their world and felt conflicted by the characters morally dubious choices. A great script and for the most part very well directed in a tricky venue. It deserves a much wider audience and I hope it gets seen far and wide.
