The Irish Mail on Sunday

ALSO PLAYING

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I’m willing to believe Michael Harnett’s The Boys (Smock Alley, is a good novel but its stage adaptation is an uncomforta­ble combinatio­n of over-the-top physical comedy that’s not particular­ly funny, mixed with maudlin sentiment, that doesn’t work on either level. It traces four teenage Dublin boys through their teens, sexual urges, exams and family relations in the 1960s. Their overlong masturbato­ry peeping Tom session, resembles a scene from the film of Angela’s Ashes, and it becomes a recurring theme. Older people are portrayed as moronic until bad news hits the families and we’re meant to weep for everyone. The comedy is like a series of improvised sketches, with the actors doing character switches and being frenetical­ly active. To go from that to the final scenes of maturity demands a crunching gear-change. The four performers put in exceptiona­l work but the lack of a consistent tone makes it difficult to empathise with the characters.

Smock Alley until October 7: The Dolmen, Cornelscou­rt, October 11-14.

 ??  ?? Madcap: Difficult to empathise with characters
Madcap: Difficult to empathise with characters

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