It is genuinely unclear whether The Intervention is intended to be a vaguely serious drama about alcoholism and child abuse, a comedy about family strife or possibly, like the TV series Soap, a deliberate attempt to create a stage presentation as bad as possible.
This Comedians’ Theatre Company production appears to have been chosen as a vehicle for Phil Nichol, who gets the best of an awful lot of bad lines.
He plays alcoholic actor Zac Moskovich, though why a Jewish family was chosen to be portrayed by such un-Jewish actors is a mystery.
The Intervention in question is led by Michael Malarkey’s accident-prone Jed. He has brought Zac’s family and friends together in a concerted effort to scare him back on the wagon.
What follows is a series of almost random speeches in which everyone present is implicated in leading the 40-year-old to drink. To be frank, if any one of us had parents like those played by James Carroll Jordan and Jan Ravens or a second-best friend like Waen Shepherd‘s sniggering Henry, drink would be a mild tranquiliser with something much more potent needed.
That ignores the minor issue of how Aisling Bea as his fiancée has managed to get five months pregnant without allowing him to enjoy carnal relations in over six months.
This company has been successful in the past and may well manage worthy work in future but this really is one to steer well clear of.