Morning, Afternoon & Evening – March 23 – 28
Written & Performed by Andy Hinds – At the Viking Theatre

The play consists of three parts, each narrated by a different character. Andy Hinds plays each character. “Morning” starts the sequence with the younger of two brothers telling the story of his Belfast childhood and his new life as a university librarian in Germany which primarily centres around his complex relationship with his corporately successful German wife. “Afternoon” is the elder brother reflecting on the injustices which have led him into a drumbeat existence, scraping a living on building sites. “Evening” is narrated by an old female school friend of the elder brother who re-enters the two brother’s lives.

With minimal props Hinds creates a series of varied tense episodes. He manages to manifest entirely different characteristics and physical mannerisms in the two brothers. Remarkably he becomes feline and a sort of “femme d’un certain age” when he creates the old school friend. It is an impressive piece of acting. The text enters with confidence into the intimate details of married life, the need for children, when to have them and also into the darker world of a secretive termination.

Hinds varies the pace and volume with considerable skill. However while audible at all times he had a tendency on one or two occasions to elide some words so that they were not easy to catch but this is a minor quibble.

The three characters’ lives are dominated by their upbringing in the sectarian world of Northern Ireland thirty years ago. However it has a refreshing outward looking element as the three narrators find themselves, as they achieve maturity, living and working in Germany for one reason or another.

The new European has given them a chance to view their respective predicaments from a different vantage point. Each has survived. Each is looking for a new beginning. Through a somewhat unlikely deus ex machina the three of them each finds a positive beacon to guide them into the new territory which they are about to enter. A thoughtful piece of theatre.

Review by Frank L.