DRUID THEATRE THE HOUSE – TOM MURPHY

REVIEW BY JUDY MURPHY

Be careful what you wish for. The phrase might have been coined for Christy Cavanagh, the central character in Tom Murphy’s The House, a play about place and people’s sense of belonging in the world. Or, rather, not belonging, as is so often the case in Murphy’s work.

This mammoth production is set in a rural town in the 1950s, where elderly widow, Mrs de Burca (Marie Mullen), has decided to sell her home, Woodlawn. Her three daughters have their own lives and Woodlawn is too big and costly to maintain. Normal enough.

But this is a world of snobbery, where tuppence-ha’penny looks down on tuppence, and where young people must emigrate to find work. The shadows of lives spent in England and America loom over this place.

Christy (Marty Rea) is an emigrant, home for the summer holidays like the other lads. But he’s different – smarter and darker – and has a complex relationship with the de Burcas.

The action moves between the house of the title, where he charms the de Burca women, and the pub. There, he drinks with fellow emigrants and those rare men who’ve stayed local or, in the case of the sleeveen pub-owner, Bunty (Donncha O’Dea), returned from England with money.  Emotions run high as the emigrants consume gallons of alcohol and try to deal with the complexities of being caught between two worlds, belonging in neither.

The House, which premiered in 2000, contains echoes of Murphy’s earlier works, including Conversations on a Homecoming and A Whistle in the Dark, as well as mid-career plays like Bailegangaire.

There’s the emigrants’ bravado, their anger, and the sense of wasted lives in this repressive, judgemental Ireland that Murphy hated.

His early plays were male-dominated with women in secondary roles, something that shifted with Bailegangaire, and the women in The House have their own identities, albeit in a world that’s still male-dominated.

Mrs de Burca is a decent person, not a snob, unlike her younger daughter the glamorous, coquettish Susanne (Amy Molloy) who lives in London. Sensible older sister Marie, a chemist, (Rachel O’Byrne) is in love with Christy – but his personality and the circumstances make any relationship difficult. Middle sister, Louise (Jessica Dunne Perkins) is in an unhappy marriage, seeking comfort and adventure in this goldfish of a town.

The claustrophobia is captured in Francis O’Connor’s majestic set where, with minimal effort, the de Burcas’ grand house can become a terraced home or a pub. Lighting and music add to the sense of another, darker time, also reflected in emigrant songs like A Mother’s Love.

This sprawling work where Chekhov meets Tennessee Williams, isn’t Murphy’s finest, especially the meandering first act, but there are wonderful moments, such as when local solicitor Peter faces the dark consequences of his good deed and Christy faces his demons.

Under Garry Hynes’ direction, performances are terrific, with Marty Rea and Marie Mullen in particular, offering some heart-stopping moments.

The House, which opened at Galway’s Town Hall, is running at the Gaiety Theatre until October 6 as part of Dublin Theatre Festival.

Pictured: Marie Mullen as Mrs de Burca and Marty Rea as Christy Cavanagh in The House. PHOTO: ROS KAVANAGH.