Good With Faces – Dublin Fringe Festival – Review

Good With Faces – Oisín Kearney

Venue – Project Arts Centre – Cube
Performances – 6 Sept, 18:30 (preview), 7 – 9 Sept, 18:30, 11 Sept, 21:15, 12 Sept, 13:15, 13 Sept, 15:45 & 21:15

This is a two-hander which follows a meeting between a mother, Anne Garrick (Vicky Allen) and a member of the Social Services team, Liam (Patrick McBrearty). Liam has arrived at Anne’s house to carry out an interview. You can feel the nervous energy in the air as Anne offers Liam biscuits and something to drink. He asks her to sign a waiver form to allow the interview to be recorded. Anne doesn’t really understand why the interview is taking place or what is at stake. The interview is about her son, as there have been a number of unusual incidents in recent times.

Anne works as a professional musician, playing the violin with an orchestra. Liam calls the instrument a fiddle, and seems to be from another social stratum than the woman he is interviewing. The piece shows the unusual power dynamic between the two and the damage that this interview could cause to Anne’s life.

The play is a new work by writer/ director Oisín Kearney. Oisín previously wrote My Left Nut, which was performed in Bewley’s Cafe Theatre in 2018. He also directed plays such as Lie Low, by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth, which was in the Fringe Festival in 2022. This play marks a change in direction into a darker world.

Despite the topic being discussed, this play is not a gritty piece of social realism. While it uses the serious trappings, it evolves into something more far-fetched and bizarre. The play is essentially a conversation between the two performers, but there are a series of twists and insights that alter the dynamic between the two, and change how we see both characters.

It’s a piece that will make you wonder what goes on in the mind of its writer, Oisín Kearney! There is a succession of small reveals that alter the way we perceive the two characters. These are mainly subtle in nature, but the way they are delivered leaves the audience on shifting sands. The two actors are fully immersed in their characters, and you can feel the nervous energy in the small theatre space. While the Fringe will deliver more unorthodox productions, this piece will definitely last long in the memory! Oisín Kearney shows real skill as a writer and director in how this story is realised on stage.

Supported by Pavilion Theatre, Mermaid, An Grianán and Kabosh.

Directed by: Oisín Kearney (My Left Nut, Lie Low).
Produced by: Gina Donnelly (Two Fingers Up, Scaredy Fat, Anthem for Dissatisfaction).
Starring: Vicky Allen (BLUE LIGHTS) and Patrick McBrearty (THE CROWN).