Sean Power - Reviews & Interviews

Forty Four Sycamore
30 Jun 2002 - Sunday Independent:
"THEATRE" (by Emer O'Kelly)

TO DATE, I have considered Forty Four Sycamore to be one of the less accomplished and less well-characterised of Bernard Farrell's comedies of suburban life. So I am not sure whether he has done some re­working, or if the current production at Andrew's Lane in Dublin is far ahead of others I have seen; either way, I have been underestimating the piece: it is well up to scratch, its brushstrokes accurate rather than broad, and its wicked observation of les types de banlieue well up to Farrell's usual maliciously funny standard.

Vinny is a security nerd, his house on tbe Sycamore estate sporting every gimmick from room intercom to recorded security "mastiffs". Wife Joan is not so sure; she hates her up­pity neighbours, and misses her Mam in the old district. So when Vinny invites Hilary and Derek for drinks (their house is one of the classier models on the estate) all Joan's insecurities step on stage. But she needn't have worried. Hilary and Derek are nursing their own insecurities, all of which tumble out in a satisfying cascade of pathetic snobbery and tuppenny one-upmanship in the course of tile evening, orchestrated by the mysterious Mr Prentice, inhabitant of the original Sycamore House.

Niall O'Brien plays the machiavellian Prentice in a delightfully understated performance; and Sean Power, Jenny Maher, Fiona Browne and Ciaran McMahon are the hog-tied couples, all of them giving full value to Jim Nolan's tight direction.

Moggie Douglas has designed an exuberantly ghastly prototype of a suburban lounge, and the sound and lighting have been designed by, respectively, Dave Curran and Andy Cummins.

Forty Four Sycamore is a joint Lane and Quay River production, and will tour to Draiocht in Blanchardstown; Civic in Tallaght; Dunamaise, Portlaoise; Belltable, Limerick; Hawkswell, Sligo; Theatre Royal, Waterford; Siamsa Tire, Tralee; Opera House, Cork; Town Hall, Galway; and Pavilion, Dun Laoghaire.