Ironbound – Abbey Theatre (Peacock) – Review

Dates: 3 October – 11 November 2023
Written by Martyna Majok

Part of the Dublin Theatre Festival

On the Peacock stage – Running time: Approx. 100 mins, no interval

Darja (Olga Fedori) is a Polish immigrant living in America. When we meet her, she is waiting at a bus stop beneath a freeway in New Jersey. She is talking to her boyfriend Tommy (Aonghus Óg McAnally) who is offering her a lift to her apartment. Darja has recently discovered that Tommy has been cheating on her with another woman. She’s delivering some difficult home truths to Tommy, who is left in no doubt of her opinions!

The play spans 22 years in Darja’s life, moving back and forth in time. We see her battle to stay afloat and the men in her life at different moments in time. The well-being of her son Alex is the reason behind most of her choices. She wants what everyone wants in life, enough money for food and warmth and the companionship of a good man. As easy as it sounds, she’s struggled to find them as her American dream has slowly vanished.

The play was written by Martyna Majok, a Polish-born American playwright. She moved to America with her mother as a child and was mostly raised in Kearny, New Jersey. Martyna is a recent recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Cost of Living, in 2018. She is known for giving a voice to underrepresented communities in her work, with immigrants or displaced people often featured. Ironbound was first staged in 2014 and is a similar tale of an immigrant struggling to survive.

The main character, Darja, is played by Ukrainian actress Olga Fedori, who is probably best known for her appearance as Frieda Petrenko in the BBC medical drama Holby City. Olga is the centrepiece of the play and she is on stage throughout. She is joined on stage by three male actors, Vic (Lewis Harris), Tommy (Aonghus Óg McAnally) and Maks (Konstantin Stanchev). She has a longstanding relationship with two of these men, while the other is just a random meeting at the bus stop. We see the interactions between these individuals, which inform us of their lives and choices.

There is a constant sense of the struggles and the many compromises Olga has made and will continue to make, just to get by. In America, there is talk that if you work hard, you can find success. The reality is quite different and if you start at the bottom, you’re unlikely to move anywhere else. The comparisons with modern-day Ireland are easy to make, despite our current situation with full employment and surging property prices. With a large influx of new immigrants to our shores, often working in menial roles cleaning houses, there are many similar stories close to home.

Olga Fedori plays Darja as a strong and sensible woman, willing to battle her corner. While she has a temper, she always remains clear about what she wants in life. The set pieces with Tommy (Aonghus Óg McAnally) are the real highlights of the play, as the power dynamic quickly changes between the characters. Tommy is a deeply flawed individual but Aonghus Óg McAnally gives the character enough humour and passion to justify Olga’s interest.

This play is directed by Aoife Spillane-Hinks, who keeps the pace high throughout. There are some extremely stylish transitions between the scenes, as Darja changes her appearance with clothes hidden on stage. Dry humour is important to the piece as without these moments of levity, it could be quite dark. It is easy to warm to the character of Darja as she is everything we’re supposed to admire; hard-working and honest. The characters are vivid and feel like they’re taken from everyday life. It’s an impressive piece of social realism and an extremely simple idea, well executed.

Credits:
Darja: Olga Fedori
Vic: Lewis Harris
Tommy: Aonghus Óg McAnally
Maks: Konstantin Stanchev

Writer: Martyna Majok
Director: Aoife Spillane-Hinks
Set and Costume Design: Naomi Faughnan
Lighting Design: Matt Burke
Sound Design & Composer: Fiona Sheil
Movement Director: Sue Mythen
Production Dramaturg: Tanya Dean
Casting Director: Sarah Jones
Voice Director: Andrea Ainsworth
_: