Reviews

Theatre: The Matchmaker

The lonely and the lovelorn, in rural Ireland, are the prey of matchmaker, Dicky Mick Dicky O’Connor in John B Keane’s 1976 play, The Matchmaker. This comedic two-hander, starring Mary McEvoy (inset) and Jon Kenny, is at times farcical. But beneath the ribaldry and the agricultural references — women are compared to mares and maidens are giddy fillies — is poignancy. Dicky’s wife, “the pulse of my heart,” dies. Although attuned to the isolation of his clients, the desolation of sitting alone in front of the hearth is visceral for Dicky. But there’s no better man to improve this situation, once his grief abates.

The play is mostly related through letters, from clients of Dicky and his hopeful replies to them promising them a good match, but often failing. McEvoy is particularly amusing as the stroppy Fionnuala, who becomes widowed twice in suspicious circumstances. She describes one of the husbands as lifeless, with “about as much spark in him as a wet sod of turf.”

Keane’s comedy is very much focused on sex and doesn’t shy away from female desire. This may have been risqué when it was first performed. But it now seems unremarkable.

The play is dated. There is little subtlety here. The drama includes a bizarre scene in which an over-excited man drops his trousers and chases his date around a table in the snug of a bar in Killarney.

The play was written well before political correctness. One scenario involves a man putting poitín into his wife’s peppered milk to make her a willing companion in bed.

As the matchmaker, Kenny seems a little weary. He comes to life when playing various other characters, including an odious, upper class twit with a penchant for young boys.

McEvoy’s performance is strident, but softens in the final scene, when one of her characters meets her match.

Runs until Saturday

Star Rating: 3/5

Theatre: Grease

Cork Opera House

The return of this highly polished lively production of the 1950s musical, directed by Bryan Flynn, is as good as any top class West End show.

First staged last summer, it’s a colourful and well executed take on the graduating class of Rydell High School where Sandy is a newcomer. Carol Anne Ryan, as Sandy, is angelic looking and far too pure for the likes of tough broad, Rizzo (played with gusto by Karen Tynan). She treats Sandy with contempt, making her feel like more and more of an outsider.

Being an outsider is social death for the teenagers in this exploration of peer pressure, gangs and young love. Even though Danny (Carl Stallwood) fell for Sandy during the summer holidays, he is full of macho posturing at school and is off-hand towards her.

Stallwood is a handsome hero, taller than the other members of his gang, the T-Birds.

He indulges in crude sexist talk when the guys quiz him on how far he got with the beautiful Sandy when they first met. Danny is in demand by the girls, with Rizzo coming onto him in an almost gladiatorial style and the over enthusiastic Patty (Yvonne Cronin) making a fool of herself as she tries to zone in on him.

At the school dance, everyone is paired off but Sandy is absent as she’s unwell. On the split-level stage, she is visible on the upper part of it, with nothing but her radio for company. She faces up to the fact that she still loves Danny, however futile that may be.

There’s plenty of shenanigans, including a pregnancy scare, in the build-up to Danny and Sandy finally getting it together. The emotional songs, from ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’ to the triumphant ‘You’re the One that I Want’ are accompanied by an excellent live band positioned on the upper level of the stage.

Ryan, clad in a black skin-tight outfit, finally discovers her mojo, turning into a sexy siren. It’s a remarkable transformation.

Runs until April 20

Star Rating: 5/5