JOHN WATERS'S second play Easter Dues (written in association with David Byrne, who also directs) pitches its tent in the no-man's-land between suspense thriller and social commentary.
For perhaps two thirds of the way the mix works, adding psychological depth to the duel set up by the plot. But, as we learn what has really been going on, the tension drains, and, the play dwindles away inconclusively.
It begins in a disused church where a businessman (Joe) seems to be participating in sex games with two young women: Mary 1 and Mary 2. They are joined by another man (Ringo), who wants Joe to invest in turning the building into an inventive sex business.
But soon Joe becomes aware that there is another agenda, and that he has been lured there for other reasons.
The plot thickens. Joe is a ruthless tycoon, and Ringo seems to know all about him. His knowledge, indeed, goes back to childhood, to Joe's privileged position in a small town, and how he used it to bully and humiliate.
The air becomes murky with social humiliation and resentment, and revenge is added to the menu. But, in a further turn of the screw, the two Marys go off at another tangent, and the trio of kidnappers find themselves at odds.
It is one thing to get the characters into their cat's cradIe of relationships and coincidences, and another to get them out of it. They are finally:
"talking wordily as if they have"'
forgotten their original plans and motivations, and the prolonged denouement forfeits credibility.
There are compensations, both for the author and the Bickerstaffe company who have now produced both of his plays.
This one is a considerable advance on the first, with dialogue that rings truly on the ear, and a structure that is almost Pinteresque until it tries to make everything logical and explicit.
The social dimension gives depth to the characters, particularly the two men, played with force and menace by Ronan Leahy and Don Wycherly. Deirdre O'Kane and Tara Flynn are excellent in their lesser roles.
In sum, an ambitious work which seems finally to have gotten away from the author's intentions and concerns.
