Live and in person at the King Black Box Theatre, 1224 King St. W, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ont. Playing until April 13, 2025.
Written by The King Black Box and Aurora McClennan
Directed by Ziggy Schulting
Production design by Sophie Ann Rooney
Cast: Jenna Brown
Michael Delaney
Sean Irvine
Adam Marley
Aurora McClennan
Megan Miles
Bridget Ori
Zach Parsons
The good people at The King Black Box Theatre are fearless magicians. They create gripping theatre in a small, yet inviting space, and they do it with style. I first saw their production of Girls Unwanted, written and directed by George F. Walker last year and was impressed with their audaciousness, that they would approach George F. Walker to provide a play and to direct it.
The Irish Pub Play is no less audacious. It boasts a cast of 8 to play in a space that is tiny, that also manages to sit almost 40 people around the space. Some folks are on chairs, some on couches, many on bales of hay covered in thick blankets so the hay doesn’t stick to your clothes or jab you in the nether regions. There is a bar that sells beer, water and chips.
The welcome the audience gets is genuine. We are invited into the pub called “The Goat of Arms” to have a drink and listen to stories of three sisters (no it isn’t Chekhov—it’s Ireland, it’s different there), stories of their partners, boyfriends, strangers and dead relatives.
The three Ó Súilleabháin sisters: Gráinne, Maura and Bláithín are preparing to have a wake for their Grand Uncle Cian. They are going to have it in their 100 year old family pub, The Goat of Arms. They are closing the pub for the day, invited their friends and family and had the food made. While waiting for the guests to arrive, family feuds bubble up; the sisters are at odds with Gráinne trying to be the responsible sister to Maura and Bláithín who both are angry at their world, prone to drink and unhappy in their lives. Gráinne also has her issues having just lost her baby. He supportive husband Lorcan says they can try again. Then a Canadian tourist named Taylor Keel comes into the pub looking for answers about her family and thinks the people in the pub can help. This unlocks more questions than answers and is part of the fun of The Irish Pub Play.
As the audience files in to the space Sophie Ann Rooney has designed a terrific ‘set’. There is a bar at one end with framed pictures of Guinness emblems on the wall behind it. There are all sorts of pub stuff around the space. Another wall has egg cartons attached to a wall that makes it look like corrugated metal. I thought that was inspired. Everything about the space, especially the covered bales of hay is inspired.
A young man sits on a stool at the bar, sleeping. He’s been sick and remnants are on his face as he dozes. This is Donnell O’Connor (Michael Delaney). When the play starts various characters enter the bar loudly, some in mid-conversation; some agitated. One of the sisters, Maura (Megan Miles), is found sleeping? passed out, behind the bar. That causes more conversation, accusations, etc.
Director Ziggy Schulting says this isn’t a play about Ireland. “This is a play about humans being stuck in their ways trying to figure out how to keep going.” Fair enough. But the sparkling, sharp dialogue, the eye-popping turns of phrase place this right there in that magic country. We can’t ignore it. Is there a special kind of Irish angst? Is there a special kind of Russian/Chekhovian angst? Probably yes in both cases.
The Irish Pub Play is bracing; full of family squabbles and love. Ziggy Schulting has kept the pace whizzing. This is an ensemble so tight there is not a dropped line or an errant pause. And for all the unhappiness that these characters endure, there is bend-over humour. They insult each other with a turn of phrase that is both cutting and hilarious. When they need a pause from drinking to the health of the dearly departed, they sing rousing songs. If I have a quibble it’s the character of Taylor Keel. She’s the stranger who wanders in from Canada looking for clues about her late grandmother’s connection to the area. She has some information that leads the Ó Súilleabháin sisters to look for answers in their late uncle’s diary. But for most of the play Taylor Keel just tried to fit in and not feel awkward. I think the mystery of the relative could have been solved in a more efficient way than with this puzzling character. Other than that, fun times at The Irish Pub Play and the King Black Box Theatre.
King Black Box Theatre presents:
Play until April 13, 2025.
Running time: 2 hours approx. (1 intermission)