Visiting Mr. Green – Viking Theatre – Review by Frank L.

Written by Jeff Baron

Jeff Baron was born and brought up in New Jersey and Visiting Mr. Green is an early play which he wrote having worked for a while as a corporate executive. It was first performed in 1996 and according to its own website, has been performed in over 400 productions, in 46 countries and has been translated into 23 languages. The Viking at the Sheds is to be congratulated in giving this two hander its Irish premiere.

Mr. Green (Terry Byrne), 86 years old, has been involved in a traffic accident as a pedestrian. The driver of the offending car is a young American Express executive, Ross Gardiner (Andrew Murray) who has, as part of his sentence for reckless driving, been sentenced by the judge to visit Mr. Green weekly for six months. They discover they have various things in common and various things that are at variance. The primary theme that emerge is that each has a destructive relationship within their family.

The action takes place in Mr Green’s apartment on the Lower East Side in which he and his wife lived for years as he ran his dry cleaning business situate below. Following her death he has become reclusive and the apartment is unkempt. He has no desire for Ross to be visiting him on a weekly basis or at all. However they are stuck with the visits as the judge will not vary the sentence. Gradually and comically they begin to communicate and both help the other to negotiate the difficulties within their own family.

The first act is divided into four scenes and the second into three. The opening scene hurls the audience into a New York Jewish script which Terry Byrne as Mr Green delivers with masterful comic timing. He is ably assisted by Ross Gardiner who is a fine foil. It is a firecracker of an opening. Each reveals gradually certain bits of their past more by accident than by design which makes the younger Ross take certain steps to help Mr. Green with his time running out to face the main issue facing him in his life.

A hugely entertaining piece. Its premier in Ireland may be belated but it is a lovely, well crafted piece.