NEW YORK—Under Ciarán O'Reilly’s probing direction, Conor McPherson’s evocative “Shining City” can be said to delve into the very souls of its participants.
Seen on Broadway some years ago, the current production at off-Broadway’s Irish Repertory Theatre—now back at its original home on 22nd Street after a lengthy and successful renovation—marks a welcome revival of this provocative play.
Starting off simply enough, Ian (Billy Carter) is a psychotherapist with a new practice in Dublin. He is visited by his first patient, John (Matthew Broderick), who has suffered a recent terrible personal loss: His wife has been killed in an auto accident.
Not only is that occurrence terrible in and of itself, but John has been plagued by severe sleeplessness, and to make matters worse, he has seen his wife—his dead wife—in their home at various times.
Ian, though understandably puzzled, tries to comfort John in the belief that the matter will be successfully resolved.
Ian, however, has problems of his own. He has recently left the priesthood and is suffering from what might be termed separation anxiety. The Church had been his whole life up until that point. So it was a difficult decision to make the break, but he was helped along by Neasa (Lisa Dwan), a young woman he had met.
He and Neasa have been living together, and he has fathered a daughter with her. But recently he has been suffering in the belief that their relationship is not working out, and that he must make a break.
