So We Beat On, Smock Alley, Dublin

Alone, in a pool of fractured light, seated on the ground is a young man, who stands and records thoughts into a small handheld recorder. Eoin, as he turns out to be, couldn't make it the night before to a meeting with Penelope, and it is plain to see he is upset and down. The recording is for Penelope who is about to head off for Australia. She arrives on the scene, cases packed and in tow, with her own recorder, and a gun, as you do. Eoin is staying put in Athlone, because he has to; she's going, because she has to, although she wants him to leave with her, and he wants her to stay with him. On the night she is leaving, waiting for her lift, they meet for perhaps the last time ever. The premise is very simple, and is a tale we have heard over and over in the last few years and it does have many possibilities, but here, it starts off in one gear and stays there, never coming out of one circular conversation regarding 'leaving or not' except for the odd distraction. 

Added into this mix is talk of Penelope's developer father, as well as both their families being part of 'The Movement', the type of movement that 'disappear people', or get information out of them, both being from different sides of the tracks, caught up in a family feud of some sorts. A lot of this is dripfed to us, making Penelope's reasons for going, and his for staying, seem more life and death. In fact, it feels more shoehorned to make it seem more important than it is. It doesn't really fit; these extra details feel cumbersome, as do the motives and some of the dialogue. At one point Penelope frets about missing her flight, then makes no real effort to move faster, hanging around a lot longer.

Eva Hein (Penelope) does add some colour as things move on, and Oliver McKenna's Eoin works well with her, but as the play progresses, both characters do come over as more annoying than anything else, whereas at the beginning there is empathy with them and their situation. The same conversation crops up over and over again as the one act moves slowly to its conclusion. Through the early stages there are sound effects of rain and cars driving past, which is a nice touch, but were quite loud. A little less volume on that, and perhaps a little bit more projection would have balanced it all out. 

All of this is played out wisely on a blank stage which works well, with minimal props: two cases and the already mentioned gun, with minimal lighting adding to the effect of a final farewell in a quiet location, not wanting people to know, with a splendid atmosphere that wasn't capitalised on by the drama itself. Anyway, there is something in all of this struggling to get out, even if it does start at one level and finish on the same. The premise is the most appealing of it all, the extra 'facts' stretch it far too much in a one act that doesn't seem to go anywhere, despite its efforts.