Molly Sweeney

The director and star of the Citizens’ 2005 Molly Sweeney are reunited for this National Theatre of Scotland tour of Brian Friel’s drama.

The play follows the lives of three individuals: Molly, her husband Frank, and an acclaimed eye specialist, Mr. Rice. Molly has been blind since she was ten months old. Through insistent and enthusiastic encouragement from her husband, she places herself into the hands of Mr. Rice, who believes he can restore her vision. The action of the play delves into the lives of these three people, with Molly’s surgery acting as the crux: act one depicts life before the surgery, act two shows the aftermath.

Although the subject matter appears rather sombre in nature, the production is for the most part jovial and energetic. This is thanks to director Gregory Thomson, whose direction has injected theatrical life into the play. Rather than treating the production as three interlocking monologues (as it is written), Thomson has the actors engage with each other. Mr. Rice now has Molly before him when he conducts tests, and Molly’s description of a party becomes a theatrical highlight with Frank serving drinks to members of the audience. It’s a fresh interpretation that honours the original script while providing Thomson and his cast ample opportunity to richly examine the characters and the effect they have on one another.

Much can be said about all three actors, both as individual performers and as an ensemble. Oengus MacNamara gives a solid performance as Mr. Rice, combining an air professionalism with despair. He’s a haunted man who wants to do the right thing but is himself blinded by ambition, drink and a harsh past. Michael Glenn Murphy’s depiction of Frank is heartbreaking; the audience lights up every time he comes onstage to speak of another one of Frank’s schemes, freely treating each member of the audience as if they were his best friend.

But it’s Cara Kelly’s powerhouse performance as Molly that stays with you. She plays the character with such honesty and passion that it becomes impossible not to engage with Molly and her plight. It is no wonder she won such acclaim when she originally performed the role. It is also reason enough for this production to have been given a second life.