Raven & The Crone – New Theatre – Review

The New Theatre in association with First Fortnight
9th January – 11th January

We meet the Raven and the Crone coughing and spluttering, and slightly disoriented from their journey. They are two travellers, who move through time and space, and have just arrived in our era. They are very different in personality, but they travel together for a specific purpose. The Raven is an effervescent and gregarious man, slightly larger than life.  He is a tall man, elegantly dressed with an impressive white beard. The Crone is less of an extrovert, a more inward looking person, but she has powers that allow her to see into people’s souls and feel their sorrow. They have travelled to Dublin as there is much pain here and they are here to try to help.

This is a new work, written by the cast Nicole Rourke and Raven, along with the director of the piece; Deirdre Molloy. It’s presented as part of the First Fortnight Festival and is very much on-message, with a strong thread about mental health and healing.

The third member of the cast is Claire Fitch, who is billed as the Composer and Sound Designer. She is located in one corner of the stage for the duration and plays Cello along with adding a number of interesting electronic sounds.

There is a small element of audience participation, as each member of the crowd is invited to write down some complaint or problem in their lives on a piece of paper. These are then dealt with towards the end of the performance.

The play has various short interludes of a science fiction nature, as our two adventures discuss time travel. They have seen many times and places, and name drop a number of historical and legendary figures. Later the play focuses on some short monologues, telling the tales of a number of inhabitants of Dublin and the difficult times in their lives. The short play is at its best during the various exchanges between Raven and the Crone, which are quite humorous in nature. The concept of the time travellers is an interesting way to discuss some worthwhile ideas, and the play works well as a means to discuss mental health issues.

Written by: Nicole Rourke, Raven, Deirdre Molloy
Performed by: Nicole Rourke, Raven, Claire Fitch
Directed by: Deirdre Molloy
Composer and Sound Designer: Claire Fitch