Misterman review: Impressive revival in Cork of Enda Walsh's modern classic
James De Burca in Misterman, from Alsa Productins at Cork Arts Theatre.
★★★★☆
Almost three decades after he exploded onto the scene with Enda Walsh continues to be one of the most interesting Irish writers around, with a CV that includes a raft of acclaimed plays, librettos, a collaboration with David Bowie, not to mention the screenplay for the upcoming remake of
There will always be an eager and receptive audience for his work, especially in the city where he cut his teeth as a playwright, so this revival of is an inspired move by ALSA Productions.
It is over 25 years since the play was first staged by Corcadorca in Cork; in the original incarnation of the one-man show, Walsh himself played Thomas Magill, while Cillian Murphy took on the role to great acclaim in a 2011 revised version staged in Galway, London and New York.
Here, actor James De Burca steps up to the plate as Thomas, a pious innocent tormented by a cacophony of voices which resound, in Beckettian style, from tape decks in his bric-a-brac littered bunker. He occasionally ventures out onto the streets of his hometown of Inishfree to buy Jammie Dodgers for his mother, recording his encounters with a picaresque range of locals and noting their perceived sins in his notebook.
De Burca takes on most of the roles, with the supporting vocal talents of well-known actors including Fionula Linehan, Ciarán Bermingham and John McCarthy deployed to great effect. It is an impressive feat of memory on De Burca’s part, not to mention that it takes real guts to follow in the footsteps of an Oscar-winner in his own backyard. While some first-night nerves are occasionally evident in the delivery of lines, De Burca hits his stride, combining rage and vulnerability to deliver an affecting performance.
Production by Sadhbh Barrett Coakley is assured and there is a satisfying coherence to the set design, lighting, soundscape and costumes, bringing us inside Thomas’s disjointed mind, as well as capturing the claustrophobia and dislocation which has haunting echoes of our own recent pandemic-induced confinement.
Even when a promising glint of happiness appears for Thomas, the sense of dread continues to mount, building to a bleak if somewhat predictable conclusion. The admirable ambition of this production and confident direction from Al Dalton is a promising sign that while Walsh and Corcadorca ushered in a heyday of Cork theatre, there is plenty of life left in it yet.
- is at the Cork Arts Theatre until Saturday, Nov 22. Bookings at corkartstheatre.com/event/misterman
