When
it comes to black comedies, this piece by Martin McDonagh may not appear to be
the blackest of them all. But it possesses that dark Irish sensibility that can
cast a pall even as you chuckle at characters thrashing about in their quietly
untenable lives.
Mag
Folan is the elderly woman who sits and rocks in her small cottage, attended to
grudgingly by her daughter Maureen. Yes, the have some serious mother-daughter
issues, and the sparks are flying from the outset in this supremely well-acted
production directed by Sean Derry.
In
this version, instead of Maureen starting out trying to put a happy face on her
situation, Derdriu Ring as Maureen comes out of the gate in full-on bitch mode,
clearly pissed off at having to cook up mom’s porridge or tea or whatever. And
Anne McEvoy also plays against expectations by not being a harridan but almost
bashfully asking for her food and drink. This is a nice touch, since the
actions that Mag then engages in to sabotage Marueen’s life become even more
startling and hostile.
Ring
and McEvoy execute a lovely, vicious pas de deux as they dance around each
other like scorpions, stingers armed and ready. Equally adept is Tom Woodward
as Pato, a man from Maureen’s past with big dreams, whom Maureen locks onto in
hopes of dragging herself out of the house that has become a prison. And as
Pato’s dim-witted brother Ray, Nate Miller injects just the right amount of
outsider perspective and some much needed humor.
It’s
a nearly perfect little, bruised world these four talented actors create,
brimming with disappointment, small-minded carping, startling cruelty and
shattered dreams. And it’s staged in None Too Fragile’s intimate space, where
you can feel every jab and jolt. What else could you ask for in a grim, amusing
and compelling piece such as this?
The
Beauty Queen of Leenane
Through
May 7 at None Too Fragile Theater, 1835 Merriman Road, Akron (enter through Pub
Bricco), nonetoofragile.com.
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