Donal O'Kelly's new play, Farawayan, espouses the cause of refugees to Ireland, pleading for acceptance and humane treatment of those who flee their home countries for political or economic reasons. It does not offer a debate on the subject, but uses the theatre to create a tries of images and metaphors designed to enlist audience sympathy and support.
The Olympic Ballroom, off Camden Street, is transformed into an unexpectedly effective venue for the author's design, including a promenade element. First stop is the balcony, where one looks down on the dance floor, at one end of which there appears, in the Jim light, to be something like an igloo. It turns out to be a tunnel, lit to blood red, through which a number of fugitives make their escape, pursued by guards.
Next they are on g raft or ship, drifting across a 5c until they finally land and scatter. There are bodies in the hold, imaginatively represented and removed by the authorities. The plot moves on as does the audience downstairs (seated in the near-round), to, focus on the young woman, Farawaya. She is greeted by an Eire figure, who regrets that she must consider the greater good, and refuse sanctuary. After an inquisition and hunt, Farawaya is returned home.
This is not a sophisticated piece of visual argument; rather t direct appeal to the emotions, mostly created through surreal set-pieces; words are subordinate to visual effects. Some of these work very well, white others are opaque or cerebral to the point of appearing to be no more than an exercise in cleverness. But their sum is an exercise in much more than that.
There is passion here, and commitment this is the kind of heart-on-sleeve show that gives propaganda good name. The author directs his dedicated cast, among whom Neili Conroy, Bairbre Ni Chaoimh, Donncha Crowley and Vedran Smailovic are prominent. For some 90 minutes, Farawayan catches the eye and challenges the heart. Its limitations as a piece of theatre are largely irrelevant to this.
Plays until October 10th. To book phone: 01-6792236.
