A stormy island off the coast of Ireland plays host to a family gathering in Mark O’Rowe’s contemporary drama, Reunion, which was performed recently in London’s Kiln Theatre and Dublin’s Gaiety following its premiere at Galway Arts Festival back in 2024.
What is attractive about the play is that we have all attended such a reunion.
The playwright throws audiences into this tragic-comedy of family dynamics - allowing us to walk the tightrope with the characters, fully aware ourselves of the tricky balance necessary to maintain bonds that we can’t escape. Old wounds resurface and new accusations are levelled; it all threatens to be too much for this family to weather.
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Listen: Mark O'Rowe talks Reunion with Oliver Callan
As Tolstoy quipped in the opening line of Anna Karenina, All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Therein lies the drama as this particular reunion unravels to audience gasps when a series of revelations arrive thick-and-fast, shattering the civility of this middle-class gathering.
The hierarchy of this family is established in a low-key, well-paced first act. Elaine, the matriarch (Aislín McGuckin), has organised a weekend to mark the anniversary of her partner Sean’s death. She is excited to host her two daughters and her 'perfect’ son Maurice, as well as their respective partners, in their island getaway, to do some reminiscing and raise a toast to their father.
However, the familial harmony is short-lived and soon her loyalties will be tested.
The guests have landed off the ferry and are a bit shook by the choppy seas as the storm worsens. As they settle in, we get an impression of each character while they all share the stage, laid out as an open-plan kitchen in this modern holiday home.
Inspired by Chekhov’s languorous four act plays, O’Rowe wanted to create a sense of family life unfolding in front of viewers in real time. As a result, we get a messiness to conversations, with interruptions and digressions providing an authentic atmosphere.
While a hospitable dinner party plays out in front of us, the pressure cooker environment of the storm and the sense of being stuck together on the island ratchets up tensions. While many of the remarks may appear flippant, through telling comments and snide jabs the audience is given many clues as to the dynamics at play. And like Chekhov’s famous gun, it is worth paying close attention as nothing is said just for the sake of it.
Marilyn (Kate Gilmore) and Janice (Venetia Bowe) clash from the outset, and the bickering soon starts. Janice demands her corner bedroom, meaning Maurice (Peter Corby) and Holly (Simone Collins) must move their bags and find another room in which to sleep. It is revealed early on that Holly and Maurice are expecting a child - this is not the only secret they’re carrying this weekend.
As Tolstoy quipped in the opening line of Anna Karenina, All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Arriving as a surprise guest is Elaine’s sister Gina (Catherine Walker); the aunt is returning for a visit after her relationship in London has broken up. Felix (Stephen Brennan) is the other outsider, he is Holly’s dad, and Gina and he end up making an unlikely connection. A mumbling but endearing presence, Felix spends the opening scenes outside the front door braving the elements, only popping in to ask permission to get another beer from the fridge.
Felix’s character arc is an example of the many delights that the taut writing of this play offers the viewer. What could easily have been presented as a peripheral figure, his story goes from pathos to chance euphoria before poignantly returning back to a reality with which he’s arguably more comfortable. Played in an understated fashion by Stephen Brennan, Felix endures his ups and downs as the audience groans along to his journey over the less-than-24-hours of action. And there is action - this play is full of dramatic turns and moments of humour.
Before dinner is served, the lads head off to the pub for a few pints. Down at the island’s local they bump into Aonghus (Ian-Lloyd Anderson), an ex-boyfriend of Marylin’s. Back at the house (and using a classical theatrical device) there is a knocking at the door as Aonghus arrives with a plastic bag full of his own poetry books to give out. His visit is the catalyst for the drama to really start.
Aonghus makes a play for Marylin, declaring his undying love and trying to steal her back from Ciaran (Leonard Buckley), her current boyfriend, right under his nose. Ciaran is a mostly passive figure, as hinted via his arm in a cast. He pleads with Marylin to get Aonghus to leave, but is ineffectual. In fact, it is Janice’s husband Stuart (Stepehen Hagan) who is the one to intervene and he gets a slap from Aonghus for his troubles. Stuart is a bolshy and entitled character who gets what he wants and pushes things too far - but that all depends on who you believe.
Throughout the play, we are constantly involved in the theatrical experience. A simmering fight in the middle of the night between Maurice and Holly spills down to the kitchen and is broken momentarily by a knowing laugh from the audience as we are privy to the antics of other characters in a bedroom down the hall. With the very next line, the playwright pulls the air out of the room, whipping us back into the domestic argument happening in front of us with a shocking revelation.
Catherine Walker, Leonard Buckley, Stephen Brennan and Simone Collins
Mark O'Rowe is in full puppet-master mode now as he toys with what we know versus what the characters on stage do (or don't). It is in this oscillation between the laughs and the gasps that we feel tensions rise, and it seems plausible that the playwright is in control of time itself, watching how deftly he orchestrates the quick disintegration of an ordinary, recognisable family. With his skills in full effect, we are reminded of O'Rowe's other gripping work for film and TV, which includes Intermission and Normal People.
The revelations come one after another and it is hard to keep up. The bickering of the sisters yields to a full-blown civil war and a dramatic accusation against Stuart that will test where family loyalties lie. A search party is sent out for Aonghus, who has gone missing. O’Rowe continues to deliver these shocks in a barrage; there’s so many by the end that it’s easy to miss them.
Perhaps the play could have done with more subtlety. How many dramatic revelations are too many? When Aonghus reappears at the front door for a third time, we as an audience are losing track and questioning the credulity of what has been - up to this point - a hyper-realistic family drama
While there may be a temptation to resolve every plot point, and more so because O’Rowe does it brilliantly, sometimes it can be left to the audience to do the work. Not every character needs their story resolved, especially when they all can’t be as memorable as Felix’s adventures. That said, this doesn’t take away from what is a fantastic night’s entertainment with a star cast that gel magnificently.
This play will be revived numerous times because modern dramas with writing this sharp and relatable are rare beasts.
Playwright Mark O'Rowe discusses his play Reunion here
Images: Marcin Lewindowski, Mark Senior
