Trifled – The New Theatre – Review

THE NEW THEATRE – TRIFLED – BY CAITLIN MAGNALL-KEARNS
Event Dates: 01/10/2024 – 12/10/2024

Part of the Dublin Theatre Festival

Jen (Laura McAleenan) lives in East Belfast. She is a strong-willed and glamorous young woman, but she suffers from a debilitating mental illness. She has Agoraphobia and spends the majority of her life in her house. When Harry (Mark Fitzgerald) inherits a house beside Jen, the two become friends. Harry enters Jen’s world of daytime quiz shows and reality TV. He also learns how Jen makes a living, from her following on OnlyFans and the unusual fetish of sploshing!

This is a new work by Belfast-born writer Caitlin Magnall-Kearns and marks her professional full-length debut as a playwright. She has written several short plays and monologues in the past, which were performed across the UK and Ireland. The work explores the world of ‘sex work, mental illness and custard’, which is an unusual combination.

The two characters are portrayed as polar opposites. Harry’s tweed jacket and bow tie are quite far removed from Jen’s sweatpants and slippers. There are also differences in their manner and world views, but both start to depend on the other.

The two actors, Laura McAleenan and Mark Fitzgerald, are on stage almost throughout the entire piece. Mark Fitzgerald’s Harry is a ball of nervous energy, a self-confessed fuddy-duddy, who works as a lecturer. Harry is not without his own problems and he is still recovering from a major break-up with a woman he intended to marry. Laura McAleenan plays Jen as a brash and bold character, which seems quite at odds with her nervous disposition. She’s a complex individual who is struggling with her mental health.

The piece starts quite light, with banter between the characters but it slowly develops into something more complex.  We see their friendship grow as their lives become entangled. Jen’s mental illness makes her reliant on Harry, altering the power dynamic between the two. We feel that if they met under different circumstances, it’s a relationship that would never even start. Humour is the main asset of the piece, and there are some funny quips and observations. While the story arc is small, Caitlin Magnall-Kearns has created two interesting characters and the audience becomes engrossed in their lives.

Directed by Paul Meade
Set Design: Martin Cahill
Lighting Design: Cathy O’Carroll
Sound Design: Daniel Montague O’Brien
Cast: Laura McAleenan and Mark Fitzgerald
Costume Design: Toni Bailey
Intimacy Co-ordinator/Movement Direction Ruth Lehane
Stage Management: Eva Walsh
Producer: Anthony Fox