The Quare Fellow – Abbey Theatre – Review
by M Quinn

24 November – 27 January 2024

The Quare Fellow – Written by Brendan Behan, Directed by Tom Creed
Running time: Approx. 2 hours and 20 minutes, including an interval

The play is set in Mountjoy Prison. The titular ‘Quare Fellow’ is a man convicted of murdering his brother and is sentenced to death. He is due to be executed the following day and this is the source of much agitation and tension with the other inmates of the prison. We never see the Quare Fellow, but his presence is felt throughout the play.

At the start of the play, we meet a number of the inmates as two new prisoners are due to arrive. The two older prisoners set the tone, with Dunlavin (Barbara Brennan) and Neighbour (Gina Moxley) holding court. They discuss the arrival of the inmates and what they can expect. One is a murderer sentenced to Life (Lifer played by Rebecca O’Mara) and is greeted with open arms. The other is an educated man, The Other Fellow (Aisling O’Mara), who has been sentenced for a crime of an undisclosed sexual nature. He is met with contempt and is instantly an outsider.

In this new production, the original all male cast is “played exclusively by female and non-binary actors”. In director Tom Creed’s programme notes, he states “We draw on the whole tradition of cross-gender casting in the theatre, and a long history of male impersonation, from the trouser roles of baroque opera, and the music hall performances that Behan grew up with, up to contemporary drag kings”. It is an interesting concept that altered the perspective of the work. With the ‘Waking the Feminists’ movement still alive and well, it shows an attempt by the Abbey to add diversity to a cast that could have otherwise been exclusively male.

The play ‘The Quare Fellow’ was Brendan Behan’s first play, and was first produced in 1954. It was famously offered to the Abbey Theatre who turned it down. It was first produced at the Pike Theatre Club, Herbert Lane, Dublin and was a critical and box office success. It was later performed in the Abbey in 1956, along with performances in London and New York. The most recent production by the Abbey was in 1984.

One stylish touch was the haunting voice of a Prisoner in Solitary confinement singing between scenes. The voice used was that of Radie Peat (Lankum) singing ‘the Auld triangle’, with her voice echoing through the silent auditorium.

Costume Designer Catherine Fay had an interesting assignment, with the prison uniform restricting the range. The uniform is a strong blue, contrasting with the pale grey walls of Paul O’Mahony’s set, giving an imposing and claustrophobic feel. The piece has two main settings, in the first act, we see an area just outside the cells and after the interval, an open plan exercise yard, where the inmates help to dig the grave of The Quare Fellow.

The play is an unusual choice for the Christmas season. The piece runs until late January and there is no attempt to fill the audience with Christmas cheer! It could just as easily have been on at any other time of the year.

The play does not have a strong story arc and instead focuses on life within the prison walls. We meet a variety of characters and hear what’s on their minds through a series of conversations. The final execution in Ireland took place on the 20th of April, 1954, (Michael Manning, a 25-year-old man from Limerick) so we can see that this was a hot topic of the day. It’s interesting to hear the concerns of Irish society nearly 70 years ago.

The cast does an impressive job of bringing these characters to life and giving vibrant and colourful aspects to their mundane lives. There seems to be a deliberate attempt to cast actors with comedic talents, with Clare Barrett, Gina Moxley and others all capable of getting a laugh from the simplest of lines and there are some very funny moments. The director Tom Creed states that the piece is about ‘survival’ and we see what each individual does to get through another day. It’s a subtle piece focusing on small aspects of prison life, while the execution looms large in the background.

Credits:
Writer: Brendan Behan
Director: Tom Creed
Set Designer: Paul O’Mahony
Costume Designer: Catherine Fay
Lighting Designer: Stephen Dodd
Sound Designer & Composer: Mel Mercier
Movement Director: Sue Mythen
Hair and Makeup: Val Sherlock
Voice Director: Andrea Ainsworth
Assistant Director: John King
Assistant Sound Designer: Aidah Sama
Casting Director: Sarah Jones
Illustration: Shane Cluskey

Warder Regan: Clare Barrett
Dunlavin: Barbara Brennan
Warder Donelly: Amy Conroy
Mickser and Hangman: Wren Dennehy
Prisoner E and Jenkinson: Emer Dineen
Prisoner B: Eva-Jane Gaffney
Scholara and Warder 2: Taylor McClaine
Neighbour: Gina Moxley
Healey and Chief Warder: Marion O’Dwyer
The Other Fellow, Cook and English Voice: Aisling O’Mara
Lifer and Governor: Rebecca O’Mara
Prisoner C: Chloe O’Reilly
Shaybo and Warder Crimmin: Ebby O’Toole-Acheampong
Prisoner D: Camille Lucy Ross
Prisoner A: Kate Stanley Brennan
Voice of Prisoner in Solitary: Radie Peat