THE mercurial Gerard Stembridge has, in, Daniel's Hands now playing at Bewley's Cafe Theatre at lunchtime, taken a flying jump into the world of Edgar Allan Poe and early Hollywood movies starring Peter Lorre. His motives are, however, more ambiguous, clearly aiming to tickle the fancy while curdling the blood.
Daniel is a retarded young man being card to by sister Madeleine in a handsome country house. His hands are crushed in a bird nesting accident, and a mysterious Dr Quinn replaces them in an experimental transplant. The new hands come with an alien intelligence, and Danny and Maddie are in for a thin time and an inappropriate relationship. It all ends, as it must, in tears.
To say more would be to reveal too much about an ingenious scenario that ends with a double or maybe it's a triple whammy. Donal Beecher and Derdriu Ring play the doom laden couple with just the right odour of baked ham, and display impressive piano skills. Director Martin Murphy does not allow the po faced ambience to slip for an instant, band the result is bound to be enjoyed by all except those who fall into the grievous error of taking it seriously.
