Ferocity – The Mick Lally Theatre – Review
by M. Quinn

Ferocity By Christian O’Reilly
Directed by Andrew Flynn

Magic Pill Productions, in association with Town Hall Theatre and Decadent Theatre Company, presents the world premiere of Ferocity

Venue –  The Mick Lally Theatre, Druid
Dates: Fri 7 Nov – Sat 15 Nov, 8pm, Matinee 2pm Sat 15 Nov
Previews Fri 7, Sat 8 Nov & Mon 10 Nov

Photos by Ciaran Bagnall

The year is 1981, and we meet a complicated collection of individuals preparing to celebrate Christmas in Kerry.  Alice (Marion O’Dwyer) is the matriarch of the family.  She lives with her sister, Rose (Clelia Murphy), her niece Sally (Aisling Kearns) and her grand nephew Kevin (Ronan Harney) in a sprawling house.  The family were at one time wealthy and have a maid by the name of Cathy (Molly Logan) who seems like one of the family. The Christmas is complicated by a visit from Kevin’s father, Jonathan (Patrick Ryan).  Sally and Jonathan were married but have long since separated. They are spending Christmas together for Kevin’s sake.  The other cast member is Roger (Mark Lambert), Alice’s brother, who helps with Kevin’s education by tutoring him after school. The group are preparing for a typical Christmas day, but Alice has a surprise that will change their lives forever!

This is a new piece by playwright Christian O’Reilly,  who previously wrote No Magic Pill and Sanctuary. This new work follows a more traditional structure, delving into family dynamics at Christmas. The play has a number of shocks and surprises that take the plot in unexpected directions.

The set is a realistic depiction of an Irish dining room in the early 1980s, which works well for the activities on display.

The performance of the youngest actor on stage, Kevin (Ronan Harney), is impressive.  The play deals with some adult themes, which make it very difficult for any young actor.

The play is ambitious and aims to create a complicated collection of characters.  In some regards, it is successful, but the number of twists and subplots makes it difficult to focus on any one theme or idea.  After the interval, the play goes to a very dark place with a topic rarely covered on stage.  What the play does achieve is to create interesting and diverse characters.  The cast does an impressive job of bringing this family to life, with their complicated backstory. It is surprisingly dark for a work set at Christmas, but not all tales have a happy ending!

Cast: Ronan Harney, Aisling Kearns, Mark Lambert, Molly Logan, Clelia Murphy, Marion O’Dwyer and Patrick Ryan.