Cyprus Avenue review – complex study of sectarian paranoia

Abbey, Dublin
Stephen Rea is riveting as a troubled Ulster loyalist whose hatred of ‘the Fenians’ drives him to breakdown in this compelling Irish play

The therapist in David Ireland’s latest play, a co-production between the Abbey and the Royal Court, is understandably wary. Bridget (Wunmi Mosaku) knows exactly why Eric (Stephen Rea) is in her Belfast consulting room, and it is not because he uses racially offensive language towards her. Eric, an Ulster loyalist, freely vents his hatred of Catholics and Republicans. He fears that “the Fenians” are taking over and that his people, the Protestant Unionists, will become extinct. “Without prejudice we’re nothing! If we don’t discriminate we don’t survive!” His delusions extend to believing that the Sinn Féin leader, Gerry Adams, has managed to infiltrate Eric’s own family, in the form of his five-week-old granddaughter.

When Eric meets Slim (Chris Corrigan), a jittery member of the Ulster Volunteer Force, their banter seems like a standup sketch satirising post-peace process politics. But through Stephen Rea’s riveting portrayal of Eric, a complex study of paranoia emerges. His performance brings depth and sympathy to a man who is terrified of losing his identity, who must defend himself against weakness. In a poignant moment, he remembers a night in a pub in London, when he allowed himself to be mistaken for one of them, the Irish; this scene of reminiscence on a park bench is one of the best in the play. The characters of Eric’s wife (Julia Dearden), daughter (Amy Molloy) and therapist, though, are so underwritten they are at times little more than plot devices – targets for Eric’s barely suppressed fear of women.

This is compelling psychological terrain, which director Vicky Featherstone keeps rooted in the clinical hospital setting, avoiding cliched sectarian symbols. Lizzie Clachan’s exposed white set offers a further challenge to the cast as they try to sustain the absurdist tone the piece demands. The result is a production that is unafraid of risk, delving headlong into difficult questions about the relationship between violent language and shockingly violent acts.

  • At the Abbey, Dublin, until 19 March, then at Royal Court, London, 5 April-7 May. Box office: +35 31 878 7222.

Contributor

Helen Meany

The GuardianTramp

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