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| ERIN GO BLAH: Greg Mullavey, Evan Zes, Stephen Payne, Gordon Stanley and Charlie Hudson III in the Irish-American drama 'White Woman Street'. Photo: Carol Rosegg |
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Theater
Review
Irish-American drama White Woman Street
is talky & suffers from paper-thin plot
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By Sydney Lee
Sebastian Barry's White Woman Street tells the mystical story of five outlaws in Ohio in 1916, all of whom are led by Irish immigrant Trooper O'Hara (Stephen Payne). They descend on the town of White Woman Street because O'Hara is haunted by memories of a tragedy that took place in the local brothel 30 years earlier.
Playwright Sebastian Barry definitely has a gift for poetic dialogue, and he spins a story that is a complex narrative of Irish-American history. However, the play is often difficult to follow, and is often too talky for its own good. This is evident from the first scene, in which Payne's Trooper gives a rambling monologue about life back in his homeland in Sligo, Ireland, and his dream of coming to America. Stephen Payne has the character's Irish brogue down wonderfully, and although the playwright's monologue sounds mellifluous and elegant, it makes little sense to the audience. A quote in the show's program sums up the flowery yet obtuse nature of the story: "What happens in America is like a rover flood, everything is lifted and dragged from its place." Although this is certainly wonderful, florid poetry, it is hardly the type of material that translates to compelling theater. This is truly a shame, because the Irish Repertory Theatre is renowned for its first-rate productions, but unfortunately, White Woman Street is not one of them.
The all-male cast spends most of the play standing around talking. They sing songs, shoot and eat wild boars, talk about their hopes and aspirations, and plot to rob a train filled with gold. None of this "action" is exactly exciting, and the play could have easily been trimmed down to one act.
There are three noteworthy performances here from Mr. Payne, Greg Mullavey as English immigrant Blakely, and Gordon Stanley as Mo Mason, a clergyman.
Despite the valiant efforts of the competent cast, skillfully directed by Charlotte Moore, Sebastian Barry's script is filled with far too many thematic holes, and his execution of the paper-thin plot is often dull and lackluster.
Published May 17, 2010
Reviewed at
Press Preview Performance on May 15, 2010
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