A Small Village for Big Bullies: Theatre Commentary

“Lonesome West,” currently in its San Diego premiere during Triad Productions's temporary residence at the 10^th Ave Theatre, refers to the desolate village of Leenane on the Emerald Island’s west coast. The violence of familiarity’s contempt is the substance of Martin McDonagh’s return to the Leenane, a location for a trilogy of plays set in inconsolable detachment. The village community serves as a de facto way dysfunctional family.

Mr. McDonagh has boosted a career writing a trio of plays set over the course of a century in Leenane. The emotional and physical violence of the terrain and the village people serve this disturbing study of a rural community’s isolation governed by its own morality code. For example, dropping a sibling’s bag of crisps is tantamount to throwing down the gauntlet and prompts brother bashing. Murdering a parent is held as a reasonable solution to family conflict. The play’s violence may serve as a faint reminder to some audience’s familial boxing and wrestling.

We meet the Connor brothers as they return home from their father’s funeral: his death occurred under questionable circumstances. The plot unfolds involving the parish priest and the village tart-in-training. Played by Ryan Ross (Coleman) and Bobby Schiefer (Valene) the brothers go head to head with volatile unpredictability without a dusty finish. Both actors bring Leenane’s vocabulary of sociopath dispassionate violence and homicide to the story in a series of combats. The guys rip up the stage, yet never chew the scenery. Brendan Cavalier plays the perpetually frustrated and conflicted Father Welsh and Claire Kaplan as Girleen, the Brother’s object of obsession, balance the youngish cast with torrid portraits.

Director Adam Park’s grueling attention to detail gives “Lonesome West” a healthy ham-fisted punch of Irish linguistic-psychotic comedy that molds the characters in authenticity. The appropriately accurately wrought dialects are difficult to understand, but this works. Hard listening is required to keep up with the play, which pulls the audience further into the work.

Mr. McDonagh places his contemporary black comedy in a 19^th century (at least) cottage which supplies the image of Leenane’s stunted social progress. The cottage’s carbuncled lime washed walls also serve the brother’s fist fights and chair throwing by placing their action in relief. Better yet, this set’s stone walls do not have the look of crudely carved Styrofoam. Kris Kerr’s beautifully distressed cottage design is realistic, even down to its stained sooting for the gritty realism required for the production’s plausibility.

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Fresh-faced Triad continues emerging on the San Diego theatre scene in noteworthy progression. To this end, attendance at the Monday “industry night-off” performance included; Theatre critics Charlene Baldridge, Jeff Smith, Marty Westlin; Compass Theatre’s Founder & Executive Director, Dale Morris; former Globe Education Director turned consultant Raul Moncada and Write Out Loud’s Executive Director and actor Walter Ritter. Whew!

Yep, get the buzz at Triad with your guard down and at Recession prices, too.

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“Lonesome West”

By Martin McDonagh

Director, Adam Park

Triad Productions

10th Avenue Theatre

Downtown San Diego (between Broadway and E St.)

Opened Saturday June 6th, 2009 at 8:00 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 5:00 p.m. through July 6th.
$15 General Admission $10 for Students and Military.

With Ryan Ross, Bobby Schiefer, Brendan Cavalier, and Clair Kaplan

http://www.triadprod.com/