CHICAGO—Conor McPherson’s marvelous The Seafarer, now at Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theatre is a tale that uses the holiday—Christmas—to make its point. This cast of five men play with an enormous amount of energy and make this performance as solid as one can find.
Director Randall Arney takes us on a trip through the lives of these men during a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Dublin, Ireland. The story involves two brothers, Richard (a wonderful interpretation by the always-powerful John Mahoney), who has been blinded by an accident and who relies heavily on his brother Sharkey (Francis Guinan), an alcoholic who is attempting to get his life in order but is now forced to take care of his brother.
His friends Nicky (Randall Newsome) and Ivan (the hysterically funny Alan Wilder) join the brothers. Into their lives comes a stranger, one Mr. Lockhart (Tom Irwin, bringing just the right touch of mischief to this role), who might just be the Devil himself.
This is an eerie, dark comedy. Yes, there are lots of laughs, but as the story unfolds and we learn more about these men, we find that this mysterious Mr. Lockhart is not who he seems to be and that the Christmas poker game has stakes much higher than the “euros” on the table. In fact, Sharkey is playing for his soul, as well might the others in games to come.
Given the Irish setting, there is lots of drinking and swearing, but the dialog is very rich with traditions and great story-telling.
Director Randall Arney takes us on a trip through the lives of these men during a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Dublin, Ireland. The story involves two brothers, Richard (a wonderful interpretation by the always-powerful John Mahoney), who has been blinded by an accident and who relies heavily on his brother Sharkey (Francis Guinan), an alcoholic who is attempting to get his life in order but is now forced to take care of his brother.
His friends Nicky (Randall Newsome) and Ivan (the hysterically funny Alan Wilder) join the brothers. Into their lives comes a stranger, one Mr. Lockhart (Tom Irwin, bringing just the right touch of mischief to this role), who might just be the Devil himself.
This is an eerie, dark comedy. Yes, there are lots of laughs, but as the story unfolds and we learn more about these men, we find that this mysterious Mr. Lockhart is not who he seems to be and that the Christmas poker game has stakes much higher than the “euros” on the table. In fact, Sharkey is playing for his soul, as well might the others in games to come.
Given the Irish setting, there is lots of drinking and swearing, but the dialog is very rich with traditions and great story-telling.
