As the Tide Ebbs – Lyric Theatre – Review by Cathy Brown

Until 5th June

Pearse Elliott has always displayed an uncanny ability to blend the comic with the tragic and his new play As the Tide Ebbs, presented by Rawlife Theatre Company and the Lyric Theatre explores the personal legacy of the Troubles for the middle-aged men most affected by it.

Opening like a Belfast version of Steptoe and Son, two old mates Shasu (Marty Maguire) and Fuzzy (Billy Clarke) settle in for a night’s drinking in Fuzzy’s decrepit Council house, dubbed The House of the Rising Sun for its reputation as a drinking den. With The Band as their soundtrack, Shashu and Fuzzy banter about dog-shite, women and broken toilets until a young stranger Washy (Michael Liebmann), armed with more booze, calls to the house to join the party.

The mood darkens as the men talk about their past and the crimes they committed during the early days of the Troubles. As talk turns to buzzards, bones and ghostly visitations it becomes clear that Washy’s visit has not come about by chance.

It’s not hard to see where the play is heading, but it is carried there by some very strong performances and able direction from Martin McSharry. Marty Maguire uses his ease and comic timing to great effect, giving his hard-nosed pragmatic killer a great sense of depth and insight. Billy Clarke is all twitching nervousness and heartbreaking melancholy while Michael Liebmann is quietly persuasive as the wronged Washy trying to atone for the sins of the others. The set, designed by Niall Rea, is almost like a fourth character, with its mismatched furniture and 1970s wall paper and it quite literally gives the audience a physical reminder that what we are watching is the debris of life, left behind long after the tide has gone out.

The comedy is broad and occasionally played for easy laughs and the first half feels longer than it should, but the moments of more quiet reflection carry a power and resonance that reminds the audience that no matter what these men have done they are all lonely, all scarred by the Troubles whether as perpetrator or victim. These are lost lives, full of lost chances and cheap alcohol and drugs are the only things left to fill the gaps.

Scorsese’s The Last Waltz provides the opening soundtrack, a reference to The Sopranos prefigures the ending, and throughout America is a place of myth and possibility. But this is Belfast and these are no goodfellas commanding respect in their neighborhoods. They have checked out, but they can never leave the behind the pain and the legacy of what they did and what was done to them. This may not be new ground, but Elliott explores it in a refreshing and entertaining way, balancing the many laughs with a hard-hitting truth that while ‘the land…it changes’, much more stays the same.

Written by Pearse Elliott

Directed by Martin McSharry

Starring Martin Maguire, Michael Liebmann & Billy Clarke

Designed by Niall Rea