Jackie returns home to his girlfriend Veronica in ebullient form. He has just found a job and life is looking up. He has flowers and tickets to the cinema that night and there is obvious passion between the two. That is until Jackie sees a hat sitting on a chair beside the bed. It is not his hat, of that much he is sure and his mood changes abruptly for the worse.

This is the story of Jackie and his girlfriend Veronica along with Jackie’s AA sponsor Ralph and his wife Victoria. They all lead complex lives and are struggling to stay on the straight and narrow. They all have problems with addiction and some are dealing with it better than others. This is a new play by Stephen Adly Guirguis who is an American writer and actor, and has performed in well known films such as Meet Joe Black (1998) and Synecdoche, New York (2008). The first production of this play on Broadway (2011) had Chris Rock and Bobby Cannavale amongst its cast. This is the first European production of the play.

The opening scene is set in Veronica’s apartment, and it is a typical run down New York pad, with the brick work showing through where the plaster has broken and neon lights visible through the window. There are a large number of scene changes, with the location changing between the three main settings meaning the stage hands have their work cut out for them!

All five characters are well developed in this interesting work by Guirguis. At the heart of the play is a simple love story, but there are many layers over it, to confuse and complicate what we see. It is a play that deals with a fascinating set of morals and is quite complex despite having a lot of laughs. The two main parts of Jackie (Lynch) and Veronica (O’Riordan) are impressive, and the scenes where the two bounce off each other are some of the best in the production. It’s a brash and foul mouthed piece that is suited to a younger audience but I guess you knew that from the name alone. This tale of addiction, violence and seduction has some very funny lines and is a good antidote to the Christmas cheer that will no doubt engulf Dublin for the next few weeks.

The Motherfucker With the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirguis – Orion Productions
Dec 1st – Dec 20th @ 7.30pm
Matinee Sat 13 @ 2.30
Tickets: €15 (€12 conc.)

Read our interview with the Producer/ Actor Sinead O’Riordan here.

Cast: Andrew Lynch, Peter Gaynor, Sinead O’ Riordan, Rex Ryan, Laoisa Sexton
Directed by Aoife Spillane-Hinks