Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Mark O’Rowe’s expertly-acted THE APPROACH, heavily informed by Pinter, is one of the many Irish plays currently on view

• By drediman
• January 24, 2021
• No Comments

It seems we’re awash in Irish drama these days, the result of a welcome congruence in virtual programming. In my opinion, few pleasures are more satisfying on a winter’s day than curling up with and indulging in a dramatic work penned by one of Ireland’s many accomplished playwrights, who have a long history of producing works rich in nuanced storytelling and memorable characters. This weekend, I caught the Old Vic’s encore presentation of its masterful In Camera revival of Brian Friel’s Faith Healer. The Irish Rep is also on the cusp of launching its Theatre @ Home Winter Festival (I plan to stream Molly Sweeney, another Friel classic, next week), which generously revisits its entire catalog of digitally mounted productions from 2020. Additionally, there’s this January’s Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival, a monthlong exploration of the Irish culture, which includes the streaming of contemporary Irish plays from both sides of the pond.

Today’s musings, however, are regarding Mark O’Rowe’s The Approach (I arrived to the work as a big admirer of the playwright’s fantastical, poetic 2007 play Terminus), which is presented by Landmark Productions and the Brooklyn-based St. Ann’s Warehouse. The play is being performed by its original 2018 cast and streamed live from Dublin’s Project Arts Centre for a handful of performances (the show is also available for on-demand viewing from January 25th through 31st). The play – which requires only three actress and an austere staging (courtesy of Mr. O’Rowe) – is an ideal candidate for socially-distanced mounting during the pandemic. But beyond its logistical benefits, the play also speaks potently to life during Covid by meditating on the delicate notion of identity and the often superficial nature of human connection. Indeed, the play’s three characters spend much of the play trying to use conversation to rise from life’s cliches and banalities.

The Approach is heavily informed by Harold Pinter, whose DNA – especially that of Betrayal – is evidently infused in the work. Like that Pinter classic, structure and simmering subtext play crucial roles in conveying its elusive observations. The elegant “looping” flow of Mr. O’Rowe’s quartet of subtly chilly scenes (structurally, the hourlong play is comprised of three-and-a-half relay race style conversations between a trio of once-close women over the course of a number of years) suggests the constantly shifting, slippery nature of memory and truth – notions that are also acutely explored in Betrayal. The production’s three actresses – Cathy Belton, Derbhle Crotty, and Aisling O’Sullivan – superbly revive their original performances (seen previously in Edinburgh and Dublin), which walk the line between specificity and vagueness with heartbreaking precision. Thankfully, they’ve expertly calibrated their performances to accommodate the more intimate needs of the current virtual production.

RECOMMENDED

THE APPROACH
Theater, Live-Stream & On-Demand
St. Ann’s Warehouse / Landmark Productions
1 hour
Through January 31