Irish Theatre Players One Act Season

Irish Theatre Players’ One Act Season is a mixed bag of plays, with something for everyone. The three plays are Dilate, by local writer Yvette Wall, the well-known The Dumb Waiter, written by Harold Pinter and The Plan, by Irish Theatre Players member Sean Byrne.

Dilate is the story of heavily pregnant Marnie, who, planning on a home birth has recruited her sisters Bec and Kirsten for support, but when the midwife fails to turn up and her overbearing mother and barmy grandmother arrive, we find than there is more than one definition of “dilate”. Fun, zany and pacy, this is one of Yvette Wall’s best works, and the direction by Dale James is crisp and creative. Nikitta Poplar anchors the show nicely as the expectant Marnie, with great comic timing, Juliett Greenock is convincing as youngest sister Kirsten, with Riane Lake showing excellent comedic skills as Bec, having sympathy pains. Sharon Menzies is excellent as uptight, controlling Mum Pauline, while Kerry Goode steals scenes as the girls’ “take charge” European grandmother. Jason Wall makes a short but fun appearance as pizza delivery man Micko. A very solid production that delighted its audience.

The Dumb Waiter marks a very impressive directorial debut for Tadhg Lawrence, who handles the dramatic tension of this production well. A tension filled story of two hired assassins waiting for a “signal to go” in the basement of a building, it features strong performances from both of its actors. Relative newcomer Adrian Mills belies his lack of experience with a well layered portrayal of senior partner Ben, while Shivas Lindsay gives depth to the nervously busy Gus. Well set in a very short turnover time, the technical aspects of this play were handled nicely.

After interval the final instalment in the trio is Seán Byrne’s The Plan, directed by Stan O’Neill. In this comedy, Marie, her daughter, and best friend sit down to write the funeral plan for her still-very-much-alive husband. A great premise, the gag struggles to sustain itself for the length of the show, and at times on opening night, dialogue did not flow with optimum smoothness. Denice Byrne brought spunk to central character Marie, nicely supported by Samantha Melia, convincing as daughter Kate, and Pamela Chang, giving vibrancy to best mate Marian.

Great to see a lovely mix of a classic with new local shows. This is a varied evening with lots to offer 

Kimberley Shaw