Meet the Quare Fellow, Viking Theatre

A rainy day in Dublin and the traffic was awful. For a while I thought I wasn't going to make it to the Viking Theatre on time for Peter and Jim Sheridan's new play based on the life of famed Dublin writer Brendan Behan. I did make it, in the good old fashioned nick of time. It was so worth it. For those who know, or don't know, about Behan, this is a wonderful retelling of his tale, that has a circular, or maybe reflective effect - the older Behan tells the tale of his younger self and as the timeline moves along, the younger starts to narrate the life of the older, the final images of both acts resembling the other. Narrate is not the exact term, as it is more of a dialogue between the younger and older self, who the Sheridan's acknowledge is a device created by Frank McMahon (and used in The Borstal Boy, that I got to see in The Gaiety with Neil Tobin).

Directed by Peter Sheridan, the action takes place in a nether world. Maybe it is a purgatory, to use the old religious terms that Behan, born in 1923 and died in 1964, would have been used to, growing up in a conservative, catholic Ireland. There is also the dose of Republicanism, which led him to Liverpool where he was found with the 'gelignite and the new alarm clock', that led him to the Borstal, that in turn, with the encouragement of the governor led him to writing. And where he met Charlie, leading to tenderness and a relationship within the walls. 

This summary skips over the tone and ideas in this very theatrical work that engulfs the intimate venue of The Viking Theatre. There is also the wry comments on republicanism that cause smile and thought as well, like Behan given a one way ticket to Liverpool, and the moment where the sound of the Bodhran and the actions of a younger Behan, acted wonderfully by Fair City's Ryan Andrews, come together in a very violent and wrenching moment, without blows being landed, reminding us of Sheridan's instinct for theatre.

The older Behan is excellently cast as Gary Cooke who people will know from Aprés Match and Irish Pictorial Weekly, who has a physicality of the Behan known from pictures and recordings, and Cooke does make him his own. The second act deals with the older Behan, the meeting of his wife, his nights out in The Catacombs in Dublin, and then his writing and trip to New York with The Hostage. Here, the tragic side of Behan comes out, and Sheridan allows us to laugh at the antics of the drunk Behan on chat shows in the states, but this gives way to the tragic spectacle of it all. A man playing the role he feels people want him to play, but do they really?

All other parts are played with skill and commitment by Andrew Murray (Tuesdays With Morrie) changing through a range of characters with a hat, or coat, or a scarf, male or female, with dexterity and flow, making each one different. The whole production is slick and moves along with few props and sets, a ladder, a few boxes, enough to create the scene. 

This is a rich, theatrical retake that gives a different slant to Behan, taking his life as a whole, but moving through it with ease and imagination. The Sheridan's have hit on something here and due to the reaction last night, it is something the audience feel as well. If there is one question, it is 'would it work on a larger stage?'. In the hands of Peter Sheridan, I have no doubt that it easily will.