There is a good reason that this one does not get performed very often. Not that I did not enjoy the production or the cast. Strong performances and a strong productionmade it quite an enjoyable evening of theatre. But it is definitely Shaw at his very talkiest, and it does get tiresome by the end.
Benedict Campbell and Graeme Somerville were both excellent as Broadbent and Doyle respectively. Jim Mezon was also outstanding as Peter Keegan. The rest of the characters are largely caricatures, so the cast don't have a lot to work with.
Hey, Keegan's a caricature too!
ReplyDeleteOf course it is talky, it's Shaw, but it is still very funny at times.
Shaw is exploring the relationship between Ireland and England, but also the relationship between Shaw and Ireland. The final decisions by the two aspects of young Ireland, Nora Reilly and Larry Doyle, to follow Tom Broadbent (England), even if he is pompous and sometimes a fool, rather than stagnate in with the backward-looking aspects of old ireland reflected by the other characters, including Peter Keegan, reflects Shaw's choice of London as his centre of activity.
Yes, it is not big Shaw, but I enjoyed it more than Cathy and I am glad to have seen it.
I hope the festival continues to offer the minor Shaw plays we do not get to see otherwise.