Happiness Then – Bewley’s Cafe Theatre – Review
by Frank L.

HAPPINESS THEN… Feb 12th – March 9th, 2024 – At 1pm

Frances (Sorcha Furlong) and Bridget (Rachael Dowling) are sisters of a certain age. They do not get along and it seems they never have. Their mother has recently died. In her will, she appointed Bridget her executor and bequeathed a substantial pecuniary legacy to her carer. Frances is peeved about it. That is the apparent reason she wants to meet Bridget over a bite of food in a restaurant. She was the first to arrive and has ordered a bottle of white wine and some cheese, as nibbles. She is drinking her first glass when Bridget arrives. Bridget is not drinking. This is the first altercation between the sisters. They have a lifelong store of jealousies and injustices.

Neither has enjoyed a particularly successful marriage with Frances having to face the fact that her husband Daire has left her. Given the life Daire now wishes to pursue the androgynous name of Daire is an advantage. On the other hand, Bridget’s husband does not appear to feature so prominently in her concerns and all her emotional energy is concentrated on her twenty-year-old son Fionn who has gone off the rails and is now a drug addict. She does not even know where he is. Frances and Bridget have a great deal to talk about but find it difficult to do so harmoniously.

The set consists of a table and chairs such as you would expect to find in a restaurant, with a couple of non-descript abstract paintings on the wall. It is a suitably neutral venue where the two sisters can meet. It appears a meeting between them is an infrequent occurrence.

Furlong, as Frances, has a more expansive role to play. While her marriage is in tatters and she has no children, her habit of finding solace in a euphemistic couple of drinks makes her life tolerable. She knows how the world works and she gets along. Furlong creates a character who is understandable and even allowing for her faults, Frances is an individual for whom you can have empathy. Dowling has a more difficult task as Bridget, who is, to say the least prickly. She has doubts about the green tea before she has even tasted it. You can imagine that she must have been a difficult mother for Fionn when he was a child.

Moynihan’s hour-long play requires Furlong and Dowling to investigate two complex social issues each of which is open to a variety of views and which can generate considerable disharmony. To wedge the two themes into a play of such a length is a substantial challenge. To do so with two protagonists who find it a challenge to be generous to each other is an additional hurdle. What Moynihan does show by the end of the play, which was not apparent for much of the time, is that communication between the two sparring siblings can result in a better understanding between them.

This is a play with an ambitious remit. It is not entirely successful in bringing it to fruition. However, topics such as drug addiction and gender transitioning are important and should be discussed on the stage. That said, to have both discussed over an hour-long meeting is a very tall order.

CAST AND CREW

PERFORMED BY: Rachael Dowling and Sorcha Furlong
DIRECTED BY: Liam Halligan
SET AND LIGHTING DESIGN: Eoin Lennon
COSTUME DESIGN: Toni Bailey
STAGE MANAGEMENT: Sarah Purcell
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Al Craig

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