Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Displaying their gift of the gab: Fellow Irishmen ED BYRNE and MIKEL MURFI bewitch in their respective solo shows

• By drediman
• November 7, 2023
• No Comments

Over the past few days, I encountered a pair of solo shows by hugely talented Irishmen who bewitched me with their immense charisma and undeniable gift of the gab. Read on for further thoughts on their performances.

ED BYRNE: TRAGEDY PLUS TIME
SoHo Playhouse
Through November 12

A hit at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, comedian Ed Byrne’s Tragedy Plus Time (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) has arrived in New York this fall for a limited Off-Broadway run at SoHo Playhouse as part of venue’s Fringe Encores Series. Using the death of his younger brother during the pandemic as his inspiration, Byrne’s latest stand-up comedy act can hardly be classified as uplifting on an objective level. Just don’t tell that to Byrne, who tries with every fiber of his being to polk fun at the experience. Look more closely, however, and you might notice that the quick-witted Irish comic is pulling off a fascinating hat trick right before your eyes – by pushing his jokes to the very edge of tastefulness (spoiler alert and warning: from my subjective perspective, he does go over the line occasionally), Byrne stealthily turns the attention back onto the hard-hitting, unspeakably painful subject. It’s this daring tightrope act that imbues the prismatic Tragedy Plus Time with a sense of unpredictability and exhilaration. Indeed, Byrne intuitively riffs and feels his way through the material like a surfer riding a wave. But beneath his brashly “bro-ish” persona and rapid fire delivery, you’ll find an astute portrait of someone still very much processing the aching loss of a loved one.

MIKEL MURFI: THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF KITSY RAINEY
Irish Arts Center
Through November 18

Then uptown at Irish Arts Center’s relatively new digs in Hell’s Kitchen, theater-goers will be able to find Mikel Murfi in the midst of a return New York engagement. The Irish monologuist was last seen in the city five years ago (was it really that long ago?) performing The Man in the Woman’s Shoes and I Hear You and Rejoice – also at IAC – a pair of fictitious monologues depicting the deeply humanistic adventures of one Pat Farnon, a mute cobbler in a small Irish town. Murfi is now back with The Mysterious Case of Kitsy Rainey (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) – which plays in repertory with the two aforementioned works – the concluding chapter of his soulful and good humored trilogy. This moving final installment finds Pat widowed and aging, reflecting back on his life during his waning days. Just like Byrne, Murfi pulls off an equally impressive hat trick, casting a dense spell over the audience with the sheer skill and verbosity of his performance – his gift for effortlessly conjuring characters out of thin air being particularly astonishing. In short, Murfi is a gregarious and meticulous performer and storyteller, qualities which have made each of the three cleverly plotted installments of his trilogy such uncommonly immersive experiences.