The Island – The New Theatre – Review
by M Quinn
Event Dates: 28/05/2024 – 01/06/2024
Author: Tina Noonan
The Island in question is a kitchen island in the newly renovated home of one of our protagonists. We meet four old school friends as they return home for a night of celebration. They have just watched their school’s current generation of rugby players win the Senior Cup and are in high spirits. They sit around the kitchen island and open some beers. They also discuss the upcoming funeral of one of their school friends whose nickname was Gonzo. He went off the rails at some point and there is talk of addiction issues before he was found dead. This leads to a discussion on their school days and uncovers some uncomfortable truths.
In recent years, there has been a constant string of court cases surrounding accusations of sexual abuse in the private schools of Ireland. While it is widely discussed we rarely see this topic on stage. The New Theatre and writer Tina Noonan have taken on this difficult task.
The world of the rugby elite has been shown on stage and screen many times, with Ross O’Carroll Kelly by writer Paul Howard being one of the most obvious examples. Howard’s insider knowledge of the rugby scene in Ireland is what makes this satire so biting, as he worked as a sports writer for many years. Any writer needs to know their subject matter. Unfortunately, some elements of this production did not have the same feeling of authenticity. This wasn’t helped by the accents of some of the actors on stage not matching the D4 set.
It is always extremely difficult for any new theatre company to bring a work to the stage and this troupe are to be admired for getting this far. The first stage in tackling any issue is to start a dialogue on what is wrong; this production helps open that door. While some elements of this work need further development, writer Tina Noonan has picked an interesting topic.
Performed by Owen O’Gorman, Conor Donelan, Laurence Lowry, Padraig Murray and Ruairi Nicholl.
Costume Consultant- Toni Bailey
Lighting Consultant – Cathy O’Carroll
Set Design – Martin Cahill
Suggested age rating of 16+ due to discussion of sexual violence.
Categories: Header, Theatre, Theatre Review
No More Workhorse 
The stereotypical D4 set were only a small subset of boys who went to these schools. I was in Terenure College from 71-80 and bear in mind the affected ‘D4 accent’ had not been invented at that time. There was a range of accents from posh, to well spoken, to slightly rural and a wide range of traditional Dublin accents. Indeed several of the boys with Dublin accents were actively targeted and bullied by the abusers. Since I have gone public about this systemic abuse and talked to hundreds of men from Castleknock, Clongowes, Blackrock, Marys, Belvedere, Newbridge etc… The lazy labelling of the schools as ‘Rugby Schools’ as if it was their unifying feature, no, violent sexual abuse and bullying was. This reviewer has chosen to view the play through their stilted lens of a stereotypical ‘D4 set.’ Stereotypes weren’t abused, ordinary children were, repeatedly and religiously.
I have yet to see this play, your reviewer has reminded me to leave my preconceived notions at home before I do.
Paul Kennedy.