A boom economy brings out the best in everyone, right? Irish playwright Gerald Murphy mines the falsehoods riddling this truism in his bitterly funny comedy “Take Me Away,” getting its American premiere at Washington’s Solas Nua theater under the clear-eyed direction of Linda Murray.
The play is set during Ireland’s fiscal boomtime — called the Celtic Tiger — that began in the mid-1990s. Everyone was encouraged to grab as much as he could, with economic gain taking precedence over emotional needs.
Into this frenzy is thrust a family of men. Estrogen is nowhere to be found in this play, and once you start hearing the men’s stories, you can hardly blame the women for flying the coop. The clan is gathered in the two-bedroom house of Bren (Jared Hill Mercier), the success story of the lot, a recently promoted to security guard whose sole companion is a computer screen filled with cyber-porn, with a roll of toilet tissue nearby.
Normally distant from one another, the clan is forced to gather in Bren’s house on the pretext of visiting Mum, who may or may not be mortally ill. While they pass the time, their true circumstances spill out, and they are ghastly and pathetic.
Andy (Alexander Vernon) is the screw-up of the family, whose colorful lies and rabbity swagger belie the fact that he’s just a few steps from being homeless.
Kevin (Kevin O’Reilly), the baby of the family, seems the most promising at first. Then it turns out that falling in love proves his undoing — and instead of taking to the posh bohemian squatter’s life, he’s unemployed and busking in the streets.
When the father, Eddie (Joe Cronin), appears, it’s woefully apparent that the rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as he’s a loutish palooka with a chip on his shoulder the size of Galway Bay.
Mr. Murphy portrays the disintegration of family life in favor of materialism with abundant banter that is rimmed with coldness and bile. The muscular dialogue is adroitly delivered by the cast members, who express all the colorations of depression — ranging from the classic sad-sack moping of Mr. Mercier’s Bren and the anxiety-riddled energy of Mr. Vernon’s Andy to the youthful befuddlement of Mr. O’Reilly’s Kevin, apparently a newcomer to perpetual low spirits.
Miss Murray’s lean, unfussy production emphasizes the clammy claustrophobia of this dysfunctional family in close quarters, but it also seizes every opportunity to uncover the painfully comedic in the situation.
Given the current economic crisis, there is something rather comforting and nostalgic in watching the men in “Take Me Away” grapple with how to reconcile the wallet and the heart. At least they had the luxury of such a debate.
RATING: ***
WHAT:”Take Me Away” by Gerald Murphy
WHERE: Solas Nua at Flashpoint, 916 G St. NW
WHEN:8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 26.
TICKETS: 800/494-TIXS (8497)
WEB SITE:www.solasnua.org
MAXIMUM RATING: FOUR STARS
Please read our comment policy before commenting.