Of Mornington – Smock Alley Theatre – Review
Dates – 14 – 18 Apr

In ‘Of Mornington’, we meet Phil (Gary Lydon), a former snooker champion who won a variety of tournaments but has long since lost his sparkle. He now plays at the local snooker hall, the Alamo, and signs autographs for a small fee. He lives in an apartment above a café, where Shauna (Siofra O’Meara) works as a waitress. Shauna is a strong, spirited young woman who seems to run the cafe single-handedly, there to open and close every day. She’s doing a course in Interior Design and dreams of a better life with her son. When Mike (James Doherty O’Brien), a young, would-be snooker player with a suspect past, enters the cafe one day, he tells Phil of a new snooker player who is coming to town for reasons unknown.

Billy Roche is one of Ireland’s best-known playwrights, with works such as Handful Of Stars, Poor Beast In The Rain and Belfry. Gary Lydon has previously starred in several Billy Roche plays, and the website describes their collaboration as a “40-year creative alliance”. Lydon is known for The Banshees of Inisherin, Pure Mule, The Clinic and has a long history on the stage. Of Mornington was first performed in 2016, but this production tries to reinvigorate this forgotten work, with Lydon taking the lead role.

The set gives us the inside of this run-down cafe, with its oilcloth-covered tables, cheap chairs and Formica countertop; it’s a shabby world despite the advertised Cappuccinos and Lattes. There is a flight of stairs at one end of the stage, with Phil’s snooker cue hanging above it. There is much discussion over the cue, which is billed as a ‘lucky cue’ with a history behind it, made by an artisan from a single piece of wood, but found in a charity shop.

It’s a piece filled with regrets, as Phil’s life has many ‘what could have been’ moments. Now, he’s a mean, dispirited man, lashing out at Mike, with sporadic moments of kindness, mixed with vicious and cutting comments. The piece comes alive in the second act, when Lydon takes centre stage and starts attacking this stranger both physically and mentally. It’s a difficult piece to cast, as the younger members need to be able to stand up to Phil’s barbed comments, which are a blend of bitterness and resentment. The play is well deserving of this new lease of life. The production delivers three worthwhile characters who are striving for a better life, something more than they’ve found.

WRITTEN BY Billy Roche
DIRECTED BY Peter McCamley
LIGHTING DESIGN BY Cian Redmond
SET DESIGN BY Mark Redmond
COSTUME DESIGN BY Aileen McCamley
SOUND DESIGN BY Terry Byrne
STAGE MANAGER Carol Stacey
COMMUNICATIONS Elizabeth Rose Browne
PHOTOGRAPHY Sasha Bratkova

CAST
Gary Lydon as Phil
James Doherty O’Brien as Mike
Siofra O’Meara as Shauna