A Talent For Lying – Review by Emily Elphinstone

A Talent for Lying is the tale of a (sort of) love story between Aidan and Lucy. Like many other romances in fiction, it starts with a chance meeting in a cafe; but it soon becomes clear that this particular romance may be as fictional for the characters as it is for the audience. Both are aspiring writers; and as Aidan and Lucy tell (and disagree over) how the story of their lives together would play out, the lines between fact and fiction are blurred; and we are left to wonder how much of what they describe actually happens, and how much is imagined by socially awkward Aidan.

Chancery Lane Theatre is the ideal setting for this intimate production, and much of this play’s charm is in its attention to detail; from the ‘waitress’ who shows the audience to their tables, to subtly detailed little lines about not hogging the duvet. However, there are moments where detail becomes distraction; with elements like the ever-changing projection of a painting on the wall, and sound effects, taking away some of the power of Liam McCarthy’s beautifully naturalistic writing.

Darren Yorke steals the show as Aidan, bringing the character to life with perfect timing. From the outset it’s clear that this is a guy who doesn’t talk to girls (or anyone) very much; and it’s hard to know whether to be enamoured by Aidan’s awkwardness, or nervous of his slightly stalkerish attempts to insert himself into Lucy’s life. Despite the feeling that one might have heard this story before, the performances of Yorke and Sinead O’Brien (who plays Lucy) draw the audience in both emotionally and intellectually, allowing us to enjoy the tale even while questioning the truth behind it.

A Talent for Lying is only the second production from new Theatre Company ‘Octopus Soup’, following a sell-out run of Paudie in Bewley’s Cafe Theatre earlier this month; but we can look forward to seeing a lot more from them in the future.

Tickets for Chancery Lane are available here.

A Talent for Lying runs from March 25th – 29th @ 6.30pm

Tickets €12 including beer/wine/coffee

A new play by Liam McCarthy

Directed by Sarah Bradley