From the writer of the Irish classic Intermission (2003), comes a new major ensemble play on a week-long run as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival. Mark O Rowe’s Reunion has come to the Gaiety after a very successful run in Galway’s Black Box Theatre where it received several five-star reviews from major Irish publications such as the Irish Independent. The play follows a family on holiday in the west of Ireland, where they have all gathered to see their mother Elaine and remember their father who has recently passed. All the now grown children have brought their partners and, as the day moves intonight and an unexpected visitor arrives, we see how each of these relationships are fraught with secrets of abuse, infidelity and much more.
recognising the unresolvable nature of most familial conflicts
Reunion lies somewhere in between comedy and drama. In terms of quality, it leans towards being a drama as Rowe expertly manages the many moving parts of this hour-40-minute play to lay the grounds for a dramatic intensity that endures until the play’s final moments. This is enabled by the storied characters who each seem to have a secret from their past. These secrets are not ripped out and fixated on with the patency you might expect from a less sophisticated writer. Rather, each dramatic reveal feels like the only way the play could have possibly continued. Reunion ends with many of these stories open-ended, recognising the unresolvable nature of most familial conflicts and allowing conversations to continue beyond the play.
much of the humour of Reunion is overly dependent on its explicit ‘Irishness’
However, as a comedy, Reunion is often on uneven footing. There are some clever moments where humour just flows from the scenario and the expressions of the actors, particularly the brilliant Stephen Brennan as the drama-averse Fergal who seems to only arrive at the worst times. Unfortunately, much of the humour of Reunion is overly dependent on its explicit ‘Irishness’. Often Rowe and the actors simply point to or enhance the characteristics of Irish speech and culture to provoke laughter rather than spinning them to produce any irony or make an astute observation. It’s as if the simple recognition of something your ‘Irish mammy’ might say is meant to be funny in and of itself. This leaves much of the humour, especially in the opening third, feeling too easy, especially from a playwright who knows his demographic is mostly an Irish audience to whom these references are second nature
For some, this play will not live up to its many perfect reviews, but in fairness, this is an incredibly high bar to clear. What Reunion has going for it is its undeniable entertainment factor and is an ideal way to get sucked into family drama that isn’t your own for once. Reunion has completed its week-long run in the Gaiety theatre and any information on future dates is available on Landmark Productions website.
