THE BASICS: This is the
latest in the long line of Shaw Festival rediscoveries, a charming 1933
comedy by Lennox Robinson, co-founder and fixture at Dublin’s Abbey
Theatre, and onetime secretary to Bernard Shaw. INISH is in repertory
at the Courthouse Theatre through October 1st. The play runs about 2 ¼
hours with its single intermission.
THUMBNAIL SKETCH: The
action takes place in a hotel sitting room at Inish, a sleepy little
seaside town in southern Ireland, where summer tourism is the mainstay.
After a disappointing past season of lowbrow comedies, John Twohig, the
town’s main mover and shaker, decides to “class things up”. He engages
the down-at-the-heels De La Mare Repertory Company to provide the town
with a summer diet of heavy dramas–Tolstoy, Ibsen, Chekov, Strindberg .
Things start out well enough, but before long this morose, intellectual
fare has decidedly strange effects upon Inish’s impressionable
audiences…
THE CAST AND THE PRODUCTION: Among the
“townies”, Mary Haney is the standout as Lizzie, Twohig’s spinster
sister. When not running things rather badly at the Seaside Hotel,
Lizzie lives a dried-up, regretful life–she is right out of Chekov! Ms.
Haney has one of the Shaw’s most expressive faces; it’s great fun to
watch her even when she isn’t speaking! I also enjoyed Ric Reid’s
amiable paterfamilias, and Julia Course as Christine, Eddie Twohig’s
pert, pretty, endlessly resisting flame. Among the visitors, Thom
Marriott and Corrine Koslo are the standouts as the de la Mares. They
are quite a pair indeed–he tall, booming, imperious, looking oddly like
Lugosi’s Dracula–she petite, a portrait of run-down glamour, still
making Grand Gestures all over the place. Their physical disparity is
itself quietly hilarious, and playwright Robinson has fun gently
ridiculing their pretentiousness. In truth, almost all the characters
come in for a little ribbing, but Robinson keeps them all sympathetic.
And I must say that it’s nice to watch a play that deals with the power of drama to open us up, and reshape our lives (if not always with happy consequences!).
The
design work–a nice, cheerful provincial interior and some fetching
period costumes–is by the ever reliable William Schmuck. Jackie Maxwell
must be commended for bringing this one to the Shaw. It’s too bad
that, as director, she wasn’t able to give the proceedings a little more
zip. The work “static” does come to mind…
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Here’s another wonderful Shaw rediscovery–a droll social comedy with a
big warm heart. This should be a real crowd-pleaser. Rounding up, I
will give this one the full…
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless
there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are
the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!