opPaddy Goes to Petra – Bewley’s Cafe Theatre – Review
by Frank L

Paddy Goes to Petra – Written and Directed by Áine Ryan

Paddy (Brendan Dunlea) is a middle-aged farmer with a wife called Eilis and two children, Joanna and Killian, studying at third level. All would seem to be secure in his world. However, everything has been upended by the death of Killian by suicide.  Writer and Director Áine Ryan brings us into this challenging mental space and she does so by a unique route. In December 2018 she visited solo the ancient city of Petra in Jordan for three weeks. She weaves a story whereby Paddy and Eilis, in order to get away from Ireland, decide to visit the Middle East and Jordan in particular. Their marriage is secure in the sense that it still endures but they are hardly boon companions. They visit Petra but while Paddy is engaged by the romance of the place and in particular their Bedouin guide, Eilis wants to move on to the next stopover, so they decide to split up for a night. But Paddy extends his stay by pretending he has mislaid his passport.

This time allows him to address his inner self in a place that is distant from the farm and his marriage. In particular, he finds a little spot which is far from the tourist hordes where he can be alone, feel safe and contemplate the death of his son. This is different from the perpetual motion of his marriage and their wider family, including Eilis’s sister Brid and her husband Jack, who are frequent flyers for business and pleasure.  Ryan makes Petra a place of solace for Paddy as he tries to come to terms with his loss. He can be alone with himself there.

The set consists of drapes of subdued sandstone hue which create a suitably atmospheric backdrop to Paddy’s revelations which by use of efffective lighting take on varying tones. There are musical sequences by Eyal Arad and Cáit Ní Riain which combine Arabic and Irish musical tones so as to evoke the very different worlds of Petra and Paddy’s farm in Ireland but together help in the mixing of this unlikely coupling. Dunlea as Paddy is in effect the storyteller of what has happened to him following the death of his son and going to a very different culture in Petra has helped him. It is a challenging role as he tells his unpredictable tale.

Ryan has chosen, to quote her programme note, “an unlikely mix” of rural Ireland and ancient Petra creating this theatrical experience. It has many intriguing insights. However, the latter part of the play dilutes the story somewhat. That said Ryan has created an ambitious play which conjures up an unlikely mix.

CAST AND CREW

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Áine Ryan
PERFORMED BY: Brendan Dunlea
SET DESIGN: Constance Comparot
MUSIC BY: Eyal Arad and Cáit Ní Riain
DRAMATURGY: Pamela McQueen
(With support from Galway Theatre Festival)
PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Gregson
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Gavin Doyle