Events, Festivals and Exhibitions

At the interval of Portia Coughlan now showing at  Almeida Theatre, I find myself wondering where the play will go. To my great satisfaction I discover that it develops into a transfixing performance by Alison Oliver that lifts this play far above its kitchen sink surroundings. 

Initially, I was wary of Oliver’s portrayal of the alcoholic housewife who has not recovered from the death of her twin brother 15 years earlier. Was it a tad one-dimensional? By the end I realise it is anything but, as we delve deeper and deeper into the causes of her most damaged psyche. It is a bravura performance.

Oliver’s outstanding performance aside there is much to admire in Marina Carr’s play set in a small town in the midlands of Ireland. Kathy Kiera Clark (Maggie May), Sorcha Cusack (Blaize) and Fergal McElherron (Senchil) provide excellent support as they aid and abet Portia on her path towards ruin.

Right from the outset as we hear Archee Aitch Wylie’s voice lamenting over the banks of the Belmont river to original songs written by Maimuna Memon, there is a lyrical quality to this performance, which remains with the audience long after the performance has ended.

Carrie Cracknell’s direction shifts effortlessly between the open banks of the river, and the claustrophobic nature of Portia’s house and the High Chaparral bar to where she escapes from here mundane existence. The two elements merge together on the stage intensifying the foreboding sense of the inevitability of Portia’s fate.

Portia Coughlan is not an easy ride, but at its conclusion there is a cathartic sense of release, and at its core a complex multi-layered performance by Alison Oliver. Remember the name : a star is born.

Portia Coughlan Cast

Portia Couglan is directed by Carrie Cracknell, the cast includes Sorcha Cusack, Charlie Kelly, Conor MacNeill, Sadhbh Malin, Fergal McElherron, Mairead McKinley, Mark O’Halloran and Alison Oliver.

Marina Carr is an award-winning playwright whose works include: Girl on an Altar; iGirl; Hecuba; and 16 Possible Glimpses.

Carrie Cracknell has been the artistic director of the Gate Theatre London, as well as associate director at both the Young Vic and the Royal Court.

Portia Coughlan Plot

The play is set on Portia’s birthday. However, instead of celebrating she is tormented by the death of her twin brother Gabriel, who disappeared 15 years previously. Her efforts to save herself from her fate have terrible consequences on those who love her.

Performances

7 October to 18 November.

Tickets

To purchase a ticket click here.

Main image: features Alison Oliver in Portia Coughlan at the Almeida Theatre in rehearsal by Marc Brenner.