Just Above Dogs is about two brothers Mikey and Dec and their troubled relationship throughout their youth, finding work as young Irishmen in London, and eventually having to cover up a dark secret.
This three-hander from Green Curtain Theatre was the only production within the week of Irish plays that had been previously performed, and outlines the troubles than many Irishmen experienced when relocating to England to earn money on building sites. The nature of the 'cash in hand' work that many of these men chose to take in order to avoid paying taxes to the British Exchequer, meant that their employers were able to cut corners when it came to safety measures, and under-staff their construction sites to pocket the extra cash.
While these bad working conditions are the focus of the piece there is also a side narrative of a young Irish-Londoner Cian, played by Kieran Moriarty. Fascinated by his Irish origins and seeking honest accounts of what London was like for his now estranged father and uncle as Irishmen in England in the 1970s, he grills his father for insight into the confusing details of a death broadcast on the radio and interviews a mystery old man regarding the matter. The issue with Cian's narrative is the naivety attributed to the young character as he confronts a stereotypically bitter old man, played by Kevin Bohan, and his confusing storyline. At the beginning we hear a BBC radio broadcast that very quickly gives us a lot of clunky information about a death and a priest and some other unexplained events. We then see Cian talking to his father, where the events we are supposed to be focusing on aren't made much clearer. The old man played by Bohan is also unexplained, and we are left guessing whether this character is Cian's estranged uncle, or someone else entirely. This made the beginning of the play difficult to follow, because it was uncertain as to who was who and what was meant to have previously happened. However, there soon began a flashback type scenario that explored the relationship between the brothers, Cians father and uncle, that made a bit more sense.
Throughout the piece the multi-roling that is used is at times another cause of confusion. The characters are not quite defined enough, or separate enough from one another. While all three actors play multiple roles, some much more successfully than others. Niall Bishop was a bit too erratic as one of the Irish brothers, Dec, but when playing the priest gave a calm and believable performance. Moriarty's accent was at times questionable in some roles, but his portrayal of the young man Cian was very watchable and enjoyable. Bohan had a number of monologues as Mikey that were delivered with grace and subtlety and were very pleasurable to watch, although the crafting of the old man character at the beginning was slightly over zealous.
The script itself felt at time a little forced, intent on discussing the importance of 'home' and 'belonging' with some monologues near the beginning, though performed with heart by Kieran Moriarty, being slightly too keen to impress a message on it's audience. Overall, this piece had some moving performances from it's three actors, but was slightly confused in its mixture of historical message and personal narrative.
0 Comments