REVIEW OLEANNA: A worthy challenge laid down

Damian McCarney

In an interview with the Celt ahead of their debut production, Oleanna, the Quick Forge theatre group said they wanted to stage challenging dramas that normally wouldn’t be produced outside the major cities. Director Damien O’Brien said he wanted to challenge the actors in this two-hander, while actor John McEvoy wished to challenge the audience. Saturday night’s performance of David Mamet’s play in the Touchline Theatre (in Cavan Rugby Club) certainly succeeded in challenging both.

Oleanna, exploring the rise of political correctness in the early 1990s, centred on a miscommunication between an arrogant professor, John, played by John McEvoy, and his struggling student, Carol, played by Julie Ann McKiernan.

The characters become increasingly frustrated as their seemingly minor impasse escalates into a full-scale hullaballoo.

All the while the audience is left to ponder: is Carol a confused student whose overly-literal interpretations have led her to misread John’s intentions, or is she conniving and seeking to undermine her ambitious lecturer by deliberately misunderstanding and smearing his reputation?

Is John a lecherous misogynist who seeks to exploit his position of authority while his pomposity is jeopardising his student’s chance of passing her course, or is he a caring professor who is being unfairly hammered for his unorthodox approach to education?

 

Dense

The actors were challenged by keeping on top of the insanely dense dialogue, while still trying to remember to act. Talking at odds for the entirety of the play must exhaust them. The dialogue was punctuated by relentless interruptions, resulting in the stuttering haphazard rhythm of an experimental jazz piece.

Julie Ann and John dealt with it manfully (or should that be personfully?) Under Damien’s excellent direction, they expertly explored the script’s subtle nuances, and carefully left the ambiguities unresolved. They succeeded in conveying their character’s frustration, confusion, anger, and ever so fleetingly, their tender sides.

For the audience, the challenge lay in maintaining concentration on the intense dialogue - which occasionally included difficult language - with so little visual relief, save from the perfectly designed set, and the actors standing up or sitting down.

The generous applause which greeted the conclusion of each act suggested that at least the majority of the audience, along with your reviewer, did meet the challenge and appreciated the play.

The greatest drawback for this reviewer wasn’t in the performance but the script (which was admittedly penned by a double-Pulitzer award-winning playwright). Carol somehow transforms from a timid tongue-tied wallflower into a snappy cross between a preposterously articulate Ally McBeal and a Rottweiler in less than a fortnight. Also, the heated exchanges occasionally hung on the importance of education, which is pretty dry fare when you’re are out for a night’s entertainment.

 

Impressive

Quick Forge Productions’ performance however was an impressive opening gambit. They are a welcome addition to the local drama scene, and their ambitious remit is sure to result in more enthralling dramas.

A blackboard was propped at the theatre’s exit door for the audience to vote on whose side they supported, it felt was a case of whose side you were on. It turns out that Cavan finds John less contemptible. You can cast your vote on when it continues its run at the Touchline Theatre on Friday (July 21) at 8.30pm, but be warned, there’s some full-on scenes and it’s not appropriate for all ages.