This intriguing drama deals with a theme which has never been
more relevant to society, exploring as it does the nature of
terrorism. Inspired specifically by the Moscow theatre siege two
years ago, it offers us a poignant combination of tragedy and
comedy, enabling the audience to feel the personal as well as
universal calamities which arise from such events. Ciarán McConville’s writing can be wonderfully
disjointed; from the beginning, the four characters’
separate monologues are closely intertwined, but with no
connection or flow. This gradually begins to slip into a more
conversational tone, as the three mental asylum patients and
their nurse begin to interact. McConville has trouble portraying
the ‘insane’ characters without cliché; one man
chatters to himself in the corner, while a woman retreats into a
fantasy world of dinners and dances. This can seem predictable,
but is saved from parody by a uniformly convincing cast. Julia
Charnock is particularly touching as the forlorn Barbara. While the movement is unrealistically static in the hospital
scenes, the ‘memory’ sequences are wonderfully
effective. The motionless monotony of the asylum setting
sometimes fails to convey more than a basic conception of
insanity, but a love scene under an umbrella is beautifully
played. Director Jo Britton has undoubtedly achieved her goal to
remind the audience continually of the superficiality of the
theatre through unrealistic staging, and her production is
strikingly imaginative.ARCHIVE: 0th week TT 2004
Touched by Fire – BT Late
