Irish Times writers review Beck at the Point, Dublin, Jouhn Mortimer's The Dock Brief performed at Bewley's Cafe Thetare, Dublin and Alan Ayckburn's play How The Other Half Loves performed at the Grand Opera House Belfast.
Beck
Point, Dublin
Beck's previous Dublin gigs have proved he's a master showman. So there's a thrill in the air at the Point: will he be as good this time? Will the melancholy of his excellent last album have brought him down to earth? But as the audience discovers two seconds after Beck and his band strut on stage, wielding stylophones and throwing shapes, we needn't have worried. Mr Hansen is on top form. We'll never doubt him again.
We may, however, doubt the power of the support band. Homecoming heroes The Thrills have one great song (One Horse Town), a couple of good songs and a lot of very ordinary songs, all of which they play. They're warmly received by the crowd, however, and deliver an adequate if uninspiring performance.
Aha, so this is what charisma looks like: Beck and his boys have their funk firmly back on. Launching into a ferocious Novocaine, they soon have the audience in the palms of their hands. Because Beck and his amazing bandknow just how to work the crowd.
Dancing better than Justin Timberlake, strutting like a young Mick Jagger, Beck is a born performer; he's a pleasure to watch. And for all his impressive gyrating he's not a one-trick pony. He can move from mournful melancholy to demented funk, all without losing our attention.
So when he pulls out all the stops the crowd goes mad. Few performers elicit gasps of delight from their audiences; Beck does. The reaction to his magnificent medley of the year's best pop songs, from Crazy In Love to Rock Your Body, is ecstatic. And rightly so. Come back soon, Beck.
Anna Carey
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The Dock Brief
Bewley's Cafe Theatre, Dublin
John Mortimer's first play, which saw the London light 45 years ago as part of a double bill, made full use of his barrister background and of his satirical view of English attitudes and manners. It survives well today as a short comedy, in a crisp lunchtime production.
The ingenious story concerns a failed barrister (Morgenhall) and his client (Fowle), who murdered his wife out of sheer frustration and, lacking funds, was enabled to pick a legal representative from those hanging around the court: a dock brief. As Fowle readily admits his crime, Morgenhall is obliged to seek an ingenious line of defence.
That is the play's golden gimmick. The barrister is a ridiculous figure, all pomp and futility, while the prisoner has no concern for himself but becomes protective of his legal champion. They hammer out a ludicrous case that succeeds for all the wrong reasons and march together into a planned future of partnership and mutual support.
There are just the two characters, delightfully created under the sensitive direction of Bairbre Ní Chaoimh. Philip O'Sullivan is in effervescent form as Morgenhall, catching the phoney pomposity and the desperation beneath. In effective contrast, Mal Whyte plays the essentially good-natured Fowle, propping up the zany relationship with respect for his social and educational superior and a lack of ego. They hit it off well together, a terrific team.
Bianca Moore's set and costumes give the production an effective ambience.
Runs until September 20th
Gerry Colgan
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How The Other Half Loves
Grand Opera House, Belfast
Alan Ayckbourn's 34-year-old comedy is showing signs of wear and tear, but it is nevertheless a tantalising glimpse into the imagination that was to shape such theatrical landmarks as Absurd Person Singular and The Norman Conquests.
Even in this early play, Ayckbourn's subversive tilt at the values and lifestyle of the British middle classes is much in evidence. Beneath the gloss of Frank and Fiona Foster's expensive furniture and tinkly dinner parties lie deceit and prejudice; when it comes to decency the council-house neighbours they love to patronise can show them a thing or two.
The convoluted plot is framed by a clever set, which alternates panels of material affluence - inhabited by the Fosters - with the shabbiness of Bob, Teresa and baby Benjamin Phillips's flat. The story revolves around posh Fiona having enjoyed a night of passion with randy, common Bob - her husband's employee - and their efforts to keep the fact from their other halves. To flush them out, the hapless William and Mary Featherstone are invited to dinner at each home on consecutive nights.
The dramatic challenge is that Ayckbourn shows the two excruciatingly embarrassing encounters taking place at the same time, a device to which Richard Kane and Lavina Bertram, as William and Mary, rise with terrific aplomb. Although Gary Turner and Carli Norris struggle to convince as the warring young couple, John Challis and Sue Holderness are as resignedly married as their television alter egos - Boycie and Marlene from Only Fools And Horses.
But one is left with the distinct feeling that this play really has passed its sell-by date and that, although great fun for the actors, tastes in humour have moved on.
Runs until Saturday
Jane Coyle
