The Playboy of the Western World

I should feel guilty laughing so much at JM Synge’s inflammatory play. In 1907 it caused furious riots, questioning as it did the masculinity, even the sanity, of the Irish male. However, it is no secret that actors and audiences love it for the incandescent flow of language, English in spelling but so very poetically Irish in idiom. The Little Theatre cast, led by Charlotte Atkinson and Nik Balfe, revelled in its beauty. There isn’t a weak link in this very accomplished ensemble and Nick Roche’s production flows so easily, sometimes helter-skelter, through all the delightful twists of the plot.

Brighton Little Theatre, 31 January 2017

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