Denouement – Lyric Theatre – Review
by Cathy Brown

A Lyric Theatre Production – Denouement by John Morton, directed by Jimmy Fay
Dates: Tue 21 Oct – Sat 15 Nov 2025

In this world premiere of John Morton’s Denouement, it is 2048, and the world is ending. Somewhere in rural Ireland, Liam and Adele – who have been married for 29 years – wait out the apocalypse in their isolated farmhouse. Supplies are dwindling, communication is failing, and outside, the dogs have gone feral while neighbours are taking their own lives rather than face what’s coming. Inside, though, life goes on — almost absurdly so.

That’s the play’s central irony. Where many dystopian dramas thrust audiences into alien or exaggerated worlds, Morton suggests that even on the brink of annihilation, people will still bicker over defrosting steaks, flirt with old lovers, and dance to James Brown. The apocalypse, in his hands, feels familiar, domestic and recognisable.

Liam, a frustrated writer, is determined to complete his memoirs on a battered typewriter; Adele, a free-spirited artist, is increasingly turning to religion and is desperate to reach their children in Australia and London for one last goodbye. As they circle each other in these final hours, they begin an unflinching post-mortem on their marriage and their failures as parents. To paraphrase T.S. Eliot, the world is ending not with a bang but with a whimper — or perhaps, a weary sigh of recognition.

Director Jimmy Fay’s production captures this sense of intimate catastrophe with precision. Maree Kearns’ meticulously cluttered set, framed by Douglas O’Connell’s striking projections, evokes both domestic realism and the encroaching chaos beyond. Chris Warner’s sound design — incessant, at times overwhelming — reinforces the sense of menace, though it occasionally drowns out dialogue.

The performances ground the production. Patrick O’Kane brings a restless energy and emotional volatility to Liam, navigating the play’s tonal shifts with skill. Anna Healy gives a beautifully layered performance as Adele, blending humour and despair with quiet conviction. Together, they prowl the stage like caged animals or weary boxers, locked in a final dance of resentment and tenderness.

The play itself has some pacing issues, with the early scenes feeling static and repetitive, and the tonal transitions sometimes jarring. Momentum builds impressively in the closing stretch, though an overextended rush of exposition dilutes the emotional resonance of the final scenes.

Originally due to premiere in 2020, Denouement was delayed by the Covid pandemic — a history that now lends it unexpected resonance. As Adele and Liam watch America collapse on television, lose Australia on a Zoom call, and listen helplessly as London falls via mobile phone, the parallels to the shared isolation and dread of lockdown feel unmistakable. Morton’s apocalypse is less about fire and brimstone than about human endurance, regret, and the absurd persistence of daily life in the face of extinction.