Meredith – Gate Theatre – Review
Dates: 30th Sept – 1st Nov

MEREDITH by Erica Murray
Directed by Annabelle Comyn
Photo by Ros Kavanagh

Meredith (Dearbhla Molloy) is certainly young at heart. At 83, she is discovering the pitfalls of online dating while simultaneously recovering from a recent hip operation. Her carer, Abi (Tishé Fatunbi), seems more like a friend than an employee as the two sit in the orangery, finishing the crossword and dabbling with dating apps.

Meredith’s daughter, Noelle (Fiona Bell), and grandson, Lorcan (Cal O’Driscoll), arrive with some commotion. Noelle is focused on the practicalities of her mother’s recuperation, with talk of hospital beds and the dangers of navigating the stairs. Lorcan is studying music in college, although he seems considerably more interested in his weekend job as a DJ. We meet the family, along with a few unexpected callers, on a Saturday afternoon in their family home in Meath.

This is a new work by Erica Murray, an increasingly prominent playwright who is making considerable waves on the Irish theatre scene. Not only is this her second production to be staged at the Gate Theatre, following The Loved Ones (2023), but she will shortly have The Magnificent opening on the Abbey Theatre’s main stage. With that opening on November 25, it may be time to stop describing Murray as “up-and-coming”.

The play is in good hands with a strong ensemble cast. Dearbhla Molloy plays Meredith as a warm and charismatic woman, although she is certainly not as straightforward a character as she initially appears. Fiona Bell has the more difficult role of Noelle, a woman struggling on several fronts and seemingly perpetually exasperated by the demands placed upon her. Niall Buggy provides some welcome light relief as Terry, Meredith’s occasional boyfriend, a larger-than-life character who brings a mischievous energy to the proceedings.

Cal O’Driscoll’s Lorcan is spoiled but essentially decent, a young man who tends to see the world in black and white while being less adept at recognising his own shortcomings. Tishé Fatunbi brings warmth to Abi, who appears to have developed a genuine affection for Meredith and whose relationship with her goes beyond the usual boundaries of carer and patient.

Set designer Tom Piper creates a bright and welcoming space, filled with plants in pots and hanging from above, while suggesting the curved glass walls and roof of the orangery. It is a simple but effective setting for the events, providing a sense of warmth as the various characters come and go.

The play unfolds over a single afternoon, during which a series of secrets and uncomfortable truths gradually emerge. As we learn more about the complicated histories of each character, our understanding of them shifts. Murray avoids making the play about any one individual; instead, it functions as an ensemble piece in which each character is given space to reveal different sides of themselves.

There is no neat denouement, and the ending feels deliberately unresolved. Rather than tying everything up, Murray gives us a snapshot of these people at a particular moment in their lives. The characters we meet at the beginning of the afternoon are not quite the same people we see by the end, as previously held assumptions are challenged and hidden facets of their personalities come to the surface.

There are relatively few Irish playwrights exploring the complexities of contemporary middle-class life with this degree of attention. Murray recognises that beneath the comfortable homes and everyday concerns lies a complicated web of relationships, frustrations, and desires. There is rich material here to explore, and this new work suggests that Erica Murray is a writer with plenty more to say.

Cast:
NOELLE: Fiona Bell
TERRY: Niall Buggy
ABI: Tishé Fatunbi
MEREDITH: Dearbhla Molloy
LORCAN: Cal O’Driscoll

CREATIVES
Writer: Erica Murray
Director: Annabelle Comyn
Set and Costume Designer: Tom Piper
Lighting Designer: Sarah Jane Shiels
Music and Sound: Philip Stewart
Resident Assistant Director: Signe Lury
Set and Costume Design Assistant (Lir Placement): Jane Boehlert
Casting Director Áine O’Sullivan
Casting Assistant Róisín Harrington