Identity politics follows Ireland across the waters

The blackly comedic talents of veteran actor Stephen Rea may be the best vehicle for a play exploring Ulster loyalist identity, says Padraic Killeen

A MAN looks at a newborn baby girl and discovers the face of Gerry Adams staring back at him. No, it’s not Sinn Féin’s latest election gambit. It’s the absurd premise of David Ireland’s new play, Cyprus Avenue, which opens at the Peacock Theatre this week before transferring to London’s Royal Court next month.

The play’s vaguely Kafkaesque premise is typical of Ireland, a young Belfast dramatist who has distinguished himself in recent years with plays that blend graphic, often disturbing narratives to provocative, sometimes nightmarish imagery.