PERFORMANCE REVIEW: A Skull in Connemara

A Skull in Connemara - Love & Madness: The Madness Season
Riverside Studios, Hammersmith

The ensemble is one of the most creatively perfect states in which to develop true works of theatre. Sneer as much as you want as you advocate the constant change around of casts bringing in a breath of fresh air, but Konstantin Stanislavski was definitely on to something as he preached the unique and rich experience of devising pieces surrounded by those you are familiar with, those you know deeply, and those whose feelings you know almost intuitively. A Skull in Connemara, the third offering from Love & Madness' season at the Riverside Studios, gives us an insight into just how effective an ensemble can be. It also shows us that it is not only the actor's familiarity with each other that propels the performance forward, but also the audience's familiarity with the actors.

For the latest installment in The Madness Season, the ensemble turns to the violent writings of Martin McDonagh with his tale of smashing skulls and swilling poitin set in the rural wilderness of Ireland's Galway. Living in the small, insular community is Mick, a widower who has the unenviable job of digging up skeletons from the local graveyard and disposing of the skulls as he sees fit. For seven years he has been fighting off rumours that rather than accidentally kill his wife in a drink driving incident, he, in fact, murdered her in cold blood and as her grave is unearthed to reveal no skeleton, suspicions are raised once again.

Dan Mullane is excellent as the dark, brooding Mick, dividing opinions and making it impossible to tell whether he is a wife butcherer or merely the victim of harmful gossip. His troubled face is deeply intriguing as it appears to hide many secrets and can transform from a light smile into a tormented grimace within a matter of seconds. Playing a side-kick of sorts is Jack Bence as Mairtin. Bence first enters the stage with an accent more reminiscent of Father Ted's Mrs Doyle than a genuine Galway boy and a facial expression all too similar to David Platt when he was going through the terrible teens. But as the play progresses, you really warm to his portrayal of the young tearaway. Bence manages to aptly convey the dark humour of McDonagh's text playing with both the comic and morbid sections - massaging skulls as if they were breasts is not for the fainthearted. He's clearly better suited to the comic timing than the more serious pieces making up the remainder of the repertoire.

Mick and Mairtin are joined by local busybody Maryjohnny, Lucia McAnespie, whose obsession with bingo is seen right down to the marks of highlighter pen decorating her hands. Once again McAnespie takes on her role with true eloquence, as she plays the doddery old woman without a hint of a caricature. Likewise, Iarla McGowan's useless village policeman Thomas is both hilarious and menacing as he tries to prove Mick's guilt, but ends up appearing more like PC Plum than Columbo. With perfect comic timing, McGowan is sublime right down to his asthma pump.

With a detailed, clear and concise direction from Catriona Craig - with the exception of a couple of long-winded and rather over-complicated scene changes - A Skull in Connemara is a gripping, entertaining and deeply macabre production.

Phil Burt

A Skull in Connemara runs in rep until 26th July