The Possible Strange Fruit The Morning After– Players Theatre – Review

A MÉNAGE À TROIS OF SHORT PLAYS BY LOUIS CK AND NEIL LaBUTE

Players Theatre – 1 – 6 MAY 2017

Dublin Gay Theatre Festival – May 1st to 14th

Produced by Momentum Acting Studio

This is a collection of three short plays, each for two actors. The Possible (by LaBute) is for two women and tells the story of a confrontation between a woman and her boyfriend’s mistress. As the two talk, we discover there was an ulterior motive behind the relationship and all is not what it seems! The second short play is Strange Fruit (by LaBute), the title of which calls up images of the Billie Holiday song of the same name. It is the story of a male gay couple who travel to California to get married, and realise that it is not quite as liberal as they imagine. The final piece is called the Morning After (by Louis CK) and is for a mixed couple. It is the discussion that takes place between a straight couple the morning after a one night stand. They both reveal something unusual about themselves which went unsaid the night before!

These are three short plays by two famous American writers. LaBute wrote both the Possible and Strange Fruit, but is better known for his film ‘In the company of Men’ which won several awards in the Sundance film festival. He has also worked extensively in TV, directing episodes of series such as Billions and Nurse Betty. Louis CK is probably best known as a comedian, but has a long history as a writer, working with Saturday Night Live and the Late Show with Conan O’Brien. This short play is taken from his TV show Horace and Andy, which starred Louis along with Steve Buscemi and Edie Falco.

There are six different cast members, two in each play. All of the cast are in the early stages of their careers and are of mixed ability. As such, some of the plays work better than others, but all are enjoyable. The best of the three is the final one; the Morning After. This is definitely helped by the humour of the piece, and it sparks along as the two actors slowly reveal some secrets from their past! All the plays have gay themes and explore issues such as homophobia, gay bashing and Transsexualism. It is a good chance to see work by two well known American writers that would not be seen on stage otherwise.

CAST:

Cherley Kane

Sophie Campbell

Barry McBrien

Padraic Mc Ginley

Laura Thompson

Wayne Davis
LIGHT DESIGN

Ross McSherry
DIRECTED BY

Liza Michael and Robbie Byrne