The Good Father – Smock Alley – Review

6 – 10 Feb, 8pm
Sat 10 Feb 2024 – 3pm – Boys’ School

“What are you doing for sex tonight?” is an unusual line to hear at a party! That’s the question that was asked of Tim (Tony Doyle) by Jane (Sarah Noll). It’s New Year’s Eve and Jane has had a bit too much to drink. She knows the host Rachel from College. Tim admits he knows no one at the party, he’s only there as he painted Rachel’s kitchen. He’s a painter/ decorator and a cheerful enough young man. Jane is more troubled, as she’s just broken up with her long-term boyfriend, Harry. She lived with him for 8 years and she fully intended to marry him but it was not to be. Now, she’s drunk at a party and making some bad decisions, and those decisions will have consequences when a few weeks later she discovers she’s pregnant!

This is a play by Christian O’Reilly. It was first produced in 2002 by Druid Theatre Company with Garry Hynes as director and a cast of Derbhle Crotty and Aidan Kelly. The play went on to win the Stewart Parker Award, a prize that aims to “encourage new writers for theatre in Ireland, North and South”.

This new production is by Murmuration Studios and Resonate Film and Theatre. It is a stripped-down production in the Boy’s School in Smcok Alley. The set is simple but makes great use of a bookcase and bench to create various settings such as parties, beaches and houses.

Despite the text being over twenty years old, it stands up well to scrutiny. The tale is a relatively straightforward love story where opposites attract, with a few twists and turns along the way. The first Act focuses on establishing the characters, which are well drawn out. After the interval, the play picks up a gear with a few twists and dilemmas. The two young cast members are impressive. Tony Doyle plays Tim as a likeable, down-to-earth character who is always quick with a joke. Sarah Noll’s Jane is much more reserved and is slow to let her guard down. The course of true love is never a simple one and so it proves in this case. In the week before Valentine’s Day, if you’re looking for a love story, this will fill the spot!

CAST: Tony Doyle, Sarah Noll
Directed by Mark Fitzgerald
Sound Design by HK Ní Shioradáin
Costume Design by Zoë Quinn
Set Design by Eugenia Genunchi
Lighting Design by John Gunning

About The Company:
Murmuration Studios and Resonate Film and Theatre