Heaven

Eugene O'Brien
Fishamble
Southwark Playhouse

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Heaven: Andrew Bennett and Janet Moran Credit: Ste Murray
Heaven: Andrew Bennett and Janet Moran Credit: Ste Murray

A slick, deeply moving piece of Irish theatre by playwright Eugene O'Brien.

A two-hander in which a couple take turns on the stage, giving monologues that, inch by inch, reveal their secrets, desires and passions yet ultimately the solidity of their relationship.

Andrew Bennett playing Mal offers an incredible performance. A man who struggles with his true feelings and who's in complete conflict as he tries desperately to do the 'right' thing while wrestling with thoughts he'd rather not have. His wife Mairead (FFF: fit for fifty) is an equally impressive actor, Janet Moran. She has fire in her belly and, down the pub, has found an ex-lover her body still misses.

The sound and lighting expertly takes us between weddings, receptions and churches. A simple chair often shifts atmosphere. It is within these spaces the characters reveal secrets, needs and desires.

The writing is fantastic; what could be a bit obvious (mid-life crisis stuff) is dealt with so subtly and kindly that characters don't fall into tropes. And in the end, despite all the opportunities, older couples take or don't take the deeper commitments to each other and what they've built (children) wins the day.

Reviewer: Zia Trench

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