Portia Coughlan, Almeida Theatre. Kathy Kiera Clarke and Alison Oliver. Credit Marc BrennerFor PORTIA COUGHLAN, Carrie Cracknell directs her universally strong cast with the men circling as pathetic moths in the central character’s firmament. Overwhelmed by a yearning for Gabriel the twin brother she lost when he committed suicide 15 years earlier Portia (Alison Oliver) has neither time, patience nor interest in her husband father, sons or lovers. On the morning of her 30th birthday she reflects on the events which have led to this day whilst all around her bitterly chew over their guilt as they upbraid her or attempt to comprehend why the young woman who seemingly has everything to bring her happiness, is a drunken slattern. Portia’s emotional intelligence is never in doubt as she articulates how she despises her husband, loathes her children, blames her parents and disregards the men she has used perfunctorily for sex as a distraction from the overwhelming sense of loss and guilt left by the death of her twin. As events unfold, each character acts as a catalyst to reveal Portia’s state of mind but their slanted contributions are only secondary to Portia’s inner torment and admissions which are as shocking as they are tragic.
Bizarrely, as voyeurs to the sorry events, we feel a profound sense of detachment, — as though Portia’s determination to keep everyone at arms length in the play, also applies to the audience. Whilst it insulates us from responding emotionally to the most harrowing moments, it also enables us to reflect abstractly on humanity’s failings and general weakness.
That a woman has a voice at all, is the novelty here, given the excruciatingly long time it has taken for female Irish playwrights to emerge from the shadows and have productions of their work mounted. On stage, Irish women have usually been portrayed as wayward misfits, or by contrast as caring bastions of the homestead, but rarely have they ever played more than second fiddle to their male counterparts. Whilst painfully melancholic, this work presents a searing reflection on loss and guilt and marks Marina Carr as an extraordinary voice in the wilderness.
CAST: Kathy Kiera Clarke, Sorcha Cusack, Charlie Kelly, Conor MacNeill, Sadhbh Malin, Fergal McElherron, Mairead McKinley, Mark O’Halloran, Alison Oliver, Chris Walley and the hauntingly beautiful voice of Archee Aitch Wylie.
