The Kings of the Kilburn High Road – Gaiety Theatre – Review
Written by Jimmy Murphy | Directed by Padraic McIntyre

Kings of the Kilburn High Road is a play by Jimmy Murphy which was first performed in 2000. It was later adapted for the screen where it was simply called ‘Kings’ and starred Colm Meaney. It is the story of a group of friends who meet up after one of their members dies. They are drinking to remember the good times when they first arrived in London in the 70s, filled with hopes and ambition. The intervening years have not been kind to them. One of the group has managed to do well, and is now running a construction company with 12 men working for him. The others have stayed at much the same level as when they arrived, low level physical work that does not suit their advanced years. As the night goes on, the group start to share some difficult truths.

The stage of the Gaiety has been converted into a lounge of a run-down pub somewhere in Kilburn. There is a jukebox on the wall and the remains of a dart board and bunting. All the action takes places in this one room, with the only movement being to the bar or the toilet off stage. The shabby interior evokes a sense of depression that fills the production.

There is an impressive cast with Phelim Drew playing the lead character ‘Jap’, a man who talks incessantly of returning to the promised land of Ireland. His best friend ‘Git’ (Malcom Adams) witnessed the death of his friend and is still troubled by it. Charlie Bonner is slightly detached from the group as Joe, the one who managed to pull out of the cycle of alcohol and poorly paid jobs. There are many subtle layers to the characters and the weight of the history between them is evident.

After the initial scenes, the jovial nature of the play slowly drips away and the harsher reality is revealed. On the surface, these characters seem like a group of ‘good lads’ but gradually the truth of domestic abuse, racism and alcoholism is revealed. Some members of the group have accepted their new circumstances and see London as their home whereas others continue to dream of a triumphant return. In truth, they are destined to be outsiders forever, singing rebel songs in a country they will never accept as their own. This is not an easy night at the theatre but instead delivers some difficult truths about the life of an emigrant.

Starring –
Phelim Drew
Malcolm Adams
Arthur Riordan,
Seamus O’Rourke
Charlie Bonner