No Smoke without Fire by Paddy Murray

For an hour Mary Murray delivers an acting tour de force as she conjures out of her malleable body and dextrous mouth six Dublin “wans” ranging from young “wans” to a splendid ould “wan”. She eschews any props and there is no set just the back wall of the theatre. Throughout she remains in the same dress and a pair of less than flattering sandals but her skill is such that she transports the audience into the gripes, joys and pains of her eclectic collection of “wans”. She is ably helped by the script written by her father Paddy Murray who has an acute ear for the speech rhythms of Dubliners and throws in for good measure the scouse sounds from not so far away Liverpool.

From the outset Mary Murray as the ould “wan” confides in her audience…we are let in on her little secrets, her likes and dislikes. The audience becomes her mate. From there on she has her audience as the other “wans” come and go. Needless to say the language is florid at times but the rapidity of the banter keeps everyone straining to keep up with Ms Murray’s helter skelter run around a snippet of Dublin involving a fair few smokes, a lot of gargle and a smattering of crime.

No Smoke without Fire by Paddy Murray – Runs at the Civic Theatre until November 22nd.

Review by Frank L