The sins of the fathers loom large in this heartbreaker
Sometimes great things can happen, even on the coldest, most bleak February evenings. And this week I experienced one of them, walking into Glass Mask Theatre which offers food for both the body and soul on a regular basis.
The theatre venue offers a menu of nibbles and wine which you can enjoy before the performance - and afterwards should the notion take you. But the main courses are undoubtedly the plays on offer at this forward-thinking, fast moving venue that brings flashes of delight to days that would otherwise be drab.
The latest offering here is Country Music, an adaptation of Simon Stephen’s play which easily transfers itself from England to Ireland, given the similarity of issues experienced by us and our next door neighbours, no matter what our differences might be.
Country Music tells the story of 18year-old Jamie (John Cronin) who, when we meet him is with Lyndsey, 15, after picking her up from the children’s home where she lives. He has dreams of them running away to the seaside, getting a job and living in a hotel together but we soon discover the car he’s in is a stolen one and he’s running away from his own violent actions, indeed Lindey’s spotlight on the consequences of what he’s done mean he offers one punch more.
From then we are taken on a 70 minute journey through Jamie’s life when, in an effort to protect others, he loses everything he has ever loved — including his freedom.
We next see him in his late 20s, during his second prison stint, where his brother Mattie is visiting with some bad news and then later follow him to Belfast where he meets his teenage daughter for the first time.
Cronin skillfully transforms himself from teen to forty-something in scenes that are heart-scorching, bringing the audience on a journey of their own as we realise Jamie never really had a chance given what he suffered in his childhood and that in turn, Lyndsey’s own upbringing means that she too lacks a certain kind of compassion.
Callan Cummins is excellent Mattie, the younger brother cast adrift when Jamie is incarcerated and there is a magnificent desperation and tenderness in the exchanges between the two.
Pattie Maguire as Emma could also melt stone as the teenager who meets her father for the first time since she was a toddler, but refuses to call him Dad as, she says ‘I have a dad, and it’s not you.’
Her emotion is palpable and your heart almost breaks for both Emma and Jamie who has moved mountains to be with his girl and confesses that the only person he ever loved more is her mother.
It’s a moving play that persuades you as an audience member to check your bias and you find yourself hoping things turn out better for Jamie in the end. But hope is all you have for, at just 70 minutes long, it’s fast and furious with plenty of food for thought.
Directed by Ross Gaynor, there could probably be a judicious removal of some of the more outdated language that is no longer accepted as it was 20 years ago. That aside, this is another powerful offering from Glass Mask, with great Irish talent on the stage.
Country Music is a tune that might be familiar but it is also one that’s definitely worth hearing.