The Monk – Ambassador Theatre – Review
Dates: Feb 16 – 21

The Monk is a play written, directed and starring Rex Ryan. It started life in Glassmask Theatre in June of last year. It is now back for a one-week run in the Ambassador Theatre. At a press event for the production on Thursday of last week, Gerard Hutch announced he would run for the Dáil in the November by-election.

The play starts with an unexpected prologue, with Gerard Hutch himself appearing centre stage in an armchair (on opening night at least). We hear the voices of journalists who ask him soft questions about his political aspirations. For the final question, he’s asked if he has any advice for his younger self, and he replies ‘Don’t get caught’!

After this point, the stage goes dark again, and the play begins in earnest with Rex Ryan centre stage. He plays the part of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch and tells his version of his life story. The play shows the troubled Hutch waiting for the verdict in the special jury court. He looks back at his life, seeing the events that led to this point. His childhood in Summerhill, his first time in Mountjoy prison at the age of 15 and his life thereafter.

As a first-person narrative, it has a positive spin on the events. There are admissions of some crimes and hints at others, with mentions of some of the biggest armed robberies in Ireland’s history.  The morals of the piece are obviously dubious and will cause much debate.

Ryan has described the play as a work of fiction, but it has clearly been approved by Hutch. Rex Ryan’s performance is impressive, as he delivers an intense and measured portrayal of the man. The use of AV footage showing images of Hutch as a child and also in more recent times is handled well, with two large screens on either side of the stage. There is no doubt that Ryan has created an interesting work, but there are many other questions to debate on the merits of this production.