“Man of Valour” a brave look at dark pysche

MAN of Valour premiered at Cork’s Everyman Theatre as part of the 2011 Cork Midsummer Festival, and returns to the venue this week.

This Corn Exchange production is a one man show, created by actor Paul Reid, writer Michael West and director Annie Ryan. Reid plays Fergus Farrell, an office drone with an over-active imagination, who seeks release through his violent fantasies. However, as the show progresses, the border between fantasy and reality begins to blur.

Farrell has been invisible all his life; he is socially inept and carries repressed rage. This manifests itself in an act of violence in the workplace. As Reid says, Farrell is forced to face his demons. One day, he receives a package containing his father’s ashes. Having had a difficult relationship with his father, Farrell has to forgive him for leaving the family home and for committing suicide. His father’s wish is to have his ashes buried with those of Farrell’s mother.

Farrell’s father’s tragic demise is the catalyst for the emergence of Farrell’s demons. “He is a very lonely character, frustrated in himself,” says Reid. “He spirals out of control when half the staff at work are let go. Farrell doesn’t like change.”

Reid plays a number of characters in this cinematic piece of theatre, that has suggestions of an action movie and a psychological thriller. He gives a highly physical performance against a backdrop of civil unrest, suggested by sound effects and abstract video projection. The action takes place in the near future. Snatches of news bulletin suggest a society that is breaking down. This is a metaphor for Farrell’s inner world, which is on the brink of implosion.

Physical fitness is vital for the various roles Reid plays. He transforms an empty space into a number of locations, travelling back in memory and forward into fantasy, at times almost soaring on stage. While Reid says he can run for miles, a different type of fitness is needed for this play. “I do a lot of yoga before going on stage. The director is a brilliant yoga teacher. I do yoga to be able to stretch and to limber up.”

For Reid, this is the most demanding play he has ever appeared in. But while he is alone on stage, he never feels this because of the team involved in the production. “It’s like a dance in some ways. Everyone is involved. There are over 300 cues. The stage manager is very much with me, as well as the people doing the sound.”

Reid says Jack Phelan has used video to create an incredible backdrop while Denis Clohessy has composed the atmospheric soundtrack.

Reid, who played Dylan in the RTÉ drama, Raw, is based in London. He has toured with Man of Valour, taking in Edinburgh and Poland. “The language difficulties in Poland didn’t matter because the play is so visually strong.”

Reid creates some of the sound effects himself, including the noise from doors opening and closing, water dripping and cars going by. He gives a virtuoso performance.

Despite his depression, Farrell’s odyssey sees him finding the courage deal with his problems and move on. The civil unrest of the play is simply a backdrop mirroring Farrell’s psyche. Man of Valour isn’t a political play. It’s a personal and somewhat redemptive story in which the protagonist finds inner strength.

* Man of Valour runs at the Everyman Theatre, Cork, from Apr 30-May 2. Tomorrow there will be an ‘audio described and captioned performance’ facilitated by Arts & Disability Ireland