REVIEW: A circus of twisted brilliance

Damian McCarney

Packed house; standing ovation - the first Cavan outing of Philip Doherty’s sideways take of bust Ireland couldn’t have gone much better.
This two-show run of The Circus of Perseverance in Cavan Town Hall Theatre was a prequel to a six-night stint at Dublin’s Smock Alley, which will be well underway by the time you read this.
Of course, the capital already lapped up this particular Gonzo offering when it premiered at last year’s Dublin Fringe Festival. Critics swooned at the play’s energy, daring, and of course Doherty’s writing.

Skilled cast
The Cavan playwright couldn’t resists tinkering with it, just a smidgen but, according to an original cast member who sat out this production, it is every bit as good.
The Circus charts the tribulations of a dozen or so characters, played by a skilled, versatile cast - Shane Carroll, Andy Kellegher, Rex Ryan, Kim McCafferty, Cara Christie, Amy Kellet and Patrick O’Donnell - as they bend, buckle or break under the recession’s pressure. Relationships fray, beliefs are compromised and despair deepens as each struggle to meet bills and responsibilities. Sounds grim? While there were moments of heartbreak and poignancy, on the whole it was hilarious.
Now, bear in mind that Doherty’s taste in humour is on the risqué side, so it does not necessarily follow that everyone will find it hilarious - there were a couple more empty seats at the end of the interval than at the start. Those patrons may equally have been offended by the liberal smattering of profanities. Of course, Gonzo like to challenge as much as entertain.

Quality
Doherty returned to the device he used so effectively in Fleadh Town in which he blitzes the bamboozled audience in the opening half hour with short sharp shock scenes, before finally the dust settles and we realise that these characters are actually in this show for the long haul and we should maybe start to remember their names.
Amongst the many highlights was the fantastic live score by Alan D’Arcy, Peter Denton and basist-come-ringmaster Shane Carroll.
The quality of acting across the cast, was exceptional, but for this reviewer the stand-out performance was that of Rex Ryan, who is simply impossible to ignore while on stage.
In addition to perfecting the mirthless-laugh for his street-thug character, he truly convinced in his portrayal of one of the lead characters, Daragh, who proved equally luckless in both money and love.
He was also the centre of the best swimming scene since Trainspotting.
Meanwhile a short skit on a contented Connemara farmer being tempted into a future of property speculation provided a beautiful synopsis of the type of (non-) thought process, which inflated the dreaded bubble, and will live long in the memory.
That sketch, like the circus analogy, was merely a comic aside to the primary drama; the pace, production and panache of which help the Circus of Perserverance to rank amongst the finest Gonzo shows. The Circus confirms Doherty as a gem of a writer, and it’s hard to see how he won’t win the affections of the nation at large in 2014.
Hopefully, the full house will convince the Gonzo team to roll back into town and pitch the big tent up once again for a re-run in the New Year.