Theatre Reviews

There will be no riots this time around. If anything, Roddy Doyle and Bisi Adigun's re-telling of JM Synge's comic masterpiece will provoke riotous bouts of laughter from its audience as the Abbey's most infamous play is re-imagined 100 years on.

A hilarious tour-de-force, Doyle and Adigun have succeeded in producing a work that is culturally sensitive, hugely entertaining and, though copiously re-written, still manages to retain Synge's themes of community, heroism and the conflict which emerges when fantasy becomes reality.

Brought bang up-to-date, this contemporary version sees the action switched from the west of Ireland to a tough west Dublin suburb populated by gangsters, drug users and hookers. Synge's fugitive, and the playboy of the title, has been re-imagined as Christopher Malomo (Terera), a well-educated Nigerian refugee who has fled his native country after 'killing' his father with a pestle.

Arriving late at night at a pub owned by Michael James (Carney), a Dublin gangster, Christopher quickly becomes the talk of the local community and wins the heart of the tough-talking Pegeen Mike (Walsh) with his morbid tale of murder. His good fortune however nose-dives when his 'dead' father (Jacobs) turns-up looking for vengeance and reality brushes aside fantasy.

Lavishly peppered with Doyle's characteristic brand of Dublin wit, this modern version of 'The Playboy...' is unrelenting in its uproarious humour and masterful attention to detail. While the central crux of the original remains, those parts of Synge's work which don't fit this modern urban model have been rewritten, whilst any updated element has been mined for maximum comic effect.

Each character is bountifully blessed with stand-out dialogue and all are highly-recognisable faces of modern Dublin. Just like 'The Commitments' and 'The Van', Doyle once again has brilliantly captured a particular Dublin community.

The excellent Eileen Walsh excels as Pegeen, a young woman bored "out of her tree" and wearily resigned to entering a loveless marriage within a world of never-ending violence. Typical of a section of young Dublin women, this modern Pegeen is armed with a caustic comic tongue and spits out vicious humour in every situation where she is called upon to attack or defend her character.

The Widow Quin has become a tough local tart who is wonderfully played by a stunning Angeline Ball. Oozing sex appeal, Ball also aptly conveys heart behind her character's bravado and her scenes with Pegeen are a scream as she serves as a kind-of idol for the three excitable "young wans" who capture any hint of incident on their mobile phones.  

Some of the best scenes however fall to Michael James's violent cocaine-snorting henchmen (Hanley and Drew), with their recounting of Christy's story by means of a movie plotline, proving particularly hilarious.

In all there is little not to like about this modern 'Playboy...'. Every line is played for laughs and brilliantly delivered by an exemplary cast, making for a re-working which is nothing short of an absolute triumph. Superb.

Steve Cummins