The Devil and Durex – Smock Alley – Review
by Frank L. 

The Devil and Durex – Written by Nicholas Makin

It is the 1970s, and Ireland is on the cusp of a social revolution. Women were starting to assert themselves, and the hegemony of the Roman Catholic Church was beginning to crack. These stirrings are having a destabilising effect on the marriage of  Sheila (Carmel Stephens) and Tom (Richard Sweetman). The play begins at the back of the local chapel, where Paddy (Simon Cunningham) and Tom shuffle in sheepishly and stand at the back. They pay half-hearted attention to the rituals of the Mass as they discuss what has got into their wives. Sitting on his own in a pew is an elderly sheep farmer, Willie, who is a loner. He is an interested bystander. The second scene has Sheila and Patricia (Helen O’Brien) meeting in Sheila’s house for a cup of tea and a chat. Sheila has accumulated an interesting collection of books, which she has acquired from England and the pictures in them more than arouse Patricia’s interest.  The all-powerful male world of Tom and Paddy is under full frontal attack by their wives!

The play indulges in creating some social history, including a trip to Belfast on the train to buy condoms. There are also entanglements with some local IRA members, played by Conor (Gerry Cannon) and his sidekick Joe (James Ronan), giving us a madcap escapade.

This is a new play by Nicholas Makin that delves into Ireland in the 1970s. Nick is also the founder and Artistic Director of Fair Dinkum Theatre. As the name would suggest, Nick was originally from Tasmania but now calls Ireland home!

The initial set is four simple upright chairs, which represent pews of a church. The several scene changes use the minimum of props but create in each case the right ambience. All of the scene changes take place with the minimum of fuss.

The play lasts almost two hours, which includes a fifteen-minute interval. You may remember the 70s in Ireland as being a more subdued time, where the mere mention of the word sex would cause controversy.  This piece indulges in some flights of fancy, giving us an alternate reality! While its historical accuracy may be open to some considerable questions, it creates an engaging and comic piece of theatre. It does show how Ireland has changed, as condoms could not have been displayed on a stage in the seventies. Here, condoms have a liberal airing. As it documents major social change, it has created a fun and warm-hearted piece of theatre.