The Empty Nest – Viking Theatre – Review
by Frank L.

The Empty Nest – written by Oisin Flores Sweeney

Sheila (Joan Sheehy) and Tony (Seamus O’Rourke) are having another night at home watching the television. Their two children have left the nest – the girl to marry a grand but boring lad, and the boy to live in Dublin. Tony’s relationship with his mother remains intense even though she is in a home. Sheila and Tony’s evenings are consumed by watching the television. They have concerns about their children interspersed with typical rows about what to watch on the television. However, what to watch nowadays is considerably more raunchy than when they were younger. In addition, there is Sheila’s desire to travel and Tony’s desire not to travel as it would involve expense. He is obsessed with tight-fistedness. And so the evening passes with the odd row, as their own relationship gradually comes under the microscope.

We are in the living room of a couple’s home somewhere in County Mayo. The set consists of a pair of identical armchairs which face the auditorium. Between them is a side table on which are two half-full glasses of red wine. At the front of the stage is a television which faces the chairs. On the back wall is a large child’s drawing of a house with a man, a woman and two children staring out with innocent simplicity.

O’Rourke’s Tony personifies the complacent, curmudgeonly man who has done his bit having married and been head of his family. His parameters are limited. Sheehy’s Sheila is a much more engaging character who remains interested in the world and longs for adventure. The spats between them give rise to a series of comic moments. O’Rourke and Sheehy together allow the comic to flourish. As the evening wears on they reflect on themselves. Here a more heartfelt moment is required and both Sheeehy and O’Rourke move easily to change the tone.

This is Sweeney’s first full-length play which lasts about an hour. While there is limited plot, the extent and also narrowness of Tony and Sheila’s world are lovingly investigated with humour as an important ingredient. It is a gentle exploration of a marriage as it continues into its maturity. What it shows is that both partners have needs for the other which through time and familiarity have become overlooked. It makes for an enjoyable evening.

Written by Oisín Flores Sweeney.
Directed by Geoff Gould
Starring Seamus O’Rourke & Joan Sheehy