The Baltimore Waltz, The New Theatre

Hope is such a strong thing. It has a large part in Paula Vogel's play set in 1988. Because of it, Anna, a school teacher, who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness - ATD, caught from the toilet seat at her school  - takes a trip to Europe with her gay brother Carl, a librarian from San Francisco, who wears his pink triangle. The trip to Europe is to look for a cure, but Anna is wondering why he has a toy bunny in tow, and who the mysterious Third Man is? There are a number of other mysterys in the play itself, all brought to light as the play unfolds, through a combination of comedy and compassion in this wonderful production of a funny and touching play. 

Anna and Carl's journey starts in Baltimore and takes them across Europe, through France and Amsterdam, to Vienna. On the way Anna, goes through Elizabeth Kubler Ross's five stages of grief, something not so new, but pulled of very well by Niamh Denyer, who is able to play the wide eyed, broad comedy excellently, while also revealing the character's deeper, more personal undercurrents in an intimate way. As her trip continues, so does her encounters with many men, while also wondering why Carl brings his childhood bunny with him, and why another man has the exact same type. 

Carl is played easily and confidently by Mike Kunze. While having comedy in his part, which he pulls off very well, in many ways, it is the others who bounce off him. All other parts are played excellently by Brian Higgins, who is able to transform himself between various roles, be it voice over, waiter, bell hop, Doctors or whoever else is needed, in a variety of accents too. There is a great phone conversation with Harry and Carl with a spy feel that works really well, and continued on, with a nod of course to The Third Man.

The whole production works very well, showing that a simple set and the right props, coupled with the right actors, means that the story and characters, and here, the comedy, all come to the fore, but never at the expense of the emotions underneath or the topics looked at in the play. Knowing it is 1988 and what was happening does help some of the understanding, but even so, the take of the health departments stance on ATD, still rings through in terms of the style and ideas of public announcements.

This is a wonderful production of Vogel's play, acted excellently, never over done, and giving the serious tones their space and due, while allowing us to laugh along the way, showing off some great comedy skills. Blue Heart Theatre call themselves an 'exciting new company' - which they are showing themselves to be - with collaborators from Ireland, the UK and the USA, wanting to present hidden gems. Well, they have presented one here, creating a little gem.