“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.