Danny and the Deep Blue Sea

John Patrick Shanley
8 (Ocho)
St George's West

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is a classic example of Dirty Realism. This unusual take on Beauty and the Beast is set in the Bronx, though its laws are frequently closer to those of the jungle.

The play focuses on two incendiary personalities, Danny and Roberta. They meet in a bar, where scarred Danny is concerned that he may be on the run from a murder, or at best an attempted one.

Roberta is almost equally troubled, as a single mother aged 31 who was abused when younger.

The two wallow in lashings of self-pity before discovering that just possibly they could prove to be their own and each other's saviours.

This really powerful production from German company 8 (Ocho) is excellent, although on occasion, the almost perfect accents slip, which can make intelligibility a slight issue.

Overall though, Alessija Lause and Nikolaus Szentmiklosi do a fine job throughout an intense 90 minutes under the direction of Andreas Schmidt.

Reviewer: Philip Fisher

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