The Irish Timesreviews the latest offerings in the arts
The Nativity: What the Donkey Saw
Mill Theatre, Dublin
Staging the Nativity ought to be child's play. You assemble a cast of tots, give them a confusing storyline haphazardly co-authored by Matthew and Luke, and familiarise them with otherwise outlandish concepts: virgin birth, the sanitary conditions of stables, the practical uses of myrrh. Throw in a rousing chorus of Little Donkeyand you've got a hit.
Lane Productions recognises the comic mileage to be had from putting this tradition through the parody wringer, setting a broad and cheery tone, and mashing as many reworded Christmas songs into the results as possible. But while writers Conor Grimes and Alan McKee occasionally flaunt their wit, they never seem certain whether they're making a standard pantomime or a sharper satire.
There are obligatory nods to topicality in Peter Sheridan's production, where a bright, cardboard Judea appears to be on the brink of a credit crunch. Here Vincent Moran's Joseph turns The 12 Days of Christmasinto a hesitant catalogue of courtship with Dorothy Cotter's winsome convenience-store attendant, Mary, skipping the partridge for "a breakfast roll with double puddin' please". Between a brusque visitation and some surprising information ("You're wha?!"), our parents-to-be are ushered into a convoluted swirl of gags, some okay, some plain confusing. If the makers know why God, our offstage narrator, should sound like Eamon Dunphy, they don't share their reason with us.
Comedy needs more consideration, but while Michael Hayes, Frank Mackey and Chris Patrick Simpson do their best to compensate for the material with unfaltering gusto, even their troublesome (and needless) radio mikes suggest an unfocused production. In the end, one of the Bible's most under-explored and complex relationships is translated into a cosy lesson about fatherhood. Fine. But this could learn something from the satirical US musical,
A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant- that if you ask bigger questions, you get bigger laughs. Until Jan 17
PETER CRAWLEY
Coldplay
O2, Dublin
The transformation of Coldplay over the past five years from indie act to globe-straddling mainstream rock band - now sneered at by the people who took the likes of Yellowto their hearts - is astonishing. That they remain essentially a people's band is something that annoys cynical types; yet the difference between Coldplay and other commercially successful pop/rock acts is that they refuse to pander to the lowest common denominator.
Despite what detractors say about their music (safe, predictable, and so on), the band takes risks, admittedly not of a career-suicide variety but not so insignificant that they should be dismissed. And yet Coldplay still have to get over the fact that their audience is, generally, older and more conservative than that for, say, Kings of Leon. The seating in the lower sections of this venue actually worked against the band, and was perhaps indicative of the way Coldplay view their audience: not as hip, young or prone to wild abandon.
Whatever about perceptions, the band certainly deliver the goods. Their latest album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends,provided the most thrilling parts of the set. Older material such as Yellow, In My Place, Clocks, Fix You and Speed of Soundflitted in and out between the tracks off Viva la Vida . . .,resulting in that most curious of gigs, a greatest hits offering that sounds utterly familiar yet retains a sense of the new.
And yes, we mentioned they were a people's band: their skill at making their audience part of the experience is instructive and will, in the long term, we warrant, be their ace card.
TONY CLAYTON-LEA
Zrazy
Bewley's Cafe Theatre, Dublin
For those of us who take our festivities with a tincture of dry humour and without the schmaltz that threatens to engulf this time of the year, Zrazy are our dream ticket. Languid, louche and sensual, Maria Walsh and Carole Nelson positively prowl through their jazz-soaked set with lascivious intent.
In a venue as intimate as Bewley's, there's no place to hide. Artists reach their audience whether they like it or not, and even a hint of fakery will burst their bubble. Zrazy's trump card is their unquenchable love of what they do. From the open chords of Bye Bye Blackbirdto their deliciously hammy Santa Babyand their no-holds-barred cover of The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You), they were hell-bent on having a good time.
Nelson's unhurried piano lines cosseted Walsh's leonine vocals with the familiarity of old lovers who still haven't lost the fizz. The added presence of Walsh's fascinating toy, a laptop snare, which she brushed with serpentine intent, lent a further air of exoticism. Nelson was in impish form, but she peaked on a suitably bare-boned reading of Joni Mitchell's River, her delivery a delightful plainsong that merged seamlessly with Walsh's more indolent vocals. Walsh's short flute interlude added further poignancy.
Zrazy's original material kept a heady pace alongside such classics as Ella Fitzgerald's Bewitched, Bothered and Bewilderedand Billie Holiday's God Bless the Child. Remember That You Did it First With Meslithered erotically into the ether, while Song for Jimand Suburban Girlmirrored journeys to the past and future that everyone makes. Glorious, free-spirited jazz tones to propel the dourest curmudgeon into a new year with a wry smile.
SIOBHÁN LONG
Fahy, Cooper, Talbot, Ginty
Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin
On March 25th 1931, at the premiere of Messiaen's La mort du nombre, for soprano, tenor, violin and piano, the indisposed soprano, Georgette Mathieu, was replaced at short notice. Which, uncannily, was exactly what happened at the Hugh Lane Gallery, where this free concert was in honour of the Messiaen centenary. Courageously standing in at 24 hours' notice for the unwell Virginia Kerr was Rachel Talbot. While it was probably too much to expect her to assimilate the text (Messiaen's own) wholeheartedly, Talbot's good French and commitment to vocal clarity meant many passages had a lean, transparent quality. The best of these came in an ethereal duet for Talbot and violinist Mia Cooper.
Indeed, the concert was a rare opportunity for a Dublin audience to hear Cooper - leader of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for the past two years - in a chamber music setting. And she shone, particularly in the 1932 Theme and Variations the composer wrote for, and performed with, his first wife, Claire Delbos. Cooper nimbly navigated Messiaen's mix of exotically perfumed melody and thunderous dramatics in playing that was not only committed and sure but also quite passionate.
Matching her for passion was pianist Thérèse Fahy, a long-time champion of Messiaen's music. Passion occasionally impaired her judgment in relation to balance both here and in La mort du nombre, where tenor Eugene Ginty's mostly robust lines were often masked by the piano.
One piece was dropped, allowing time for Gavin O'Sullivan, director of the Hugh Lane's Sundays at Noon series, to announce the continuation of its Arts Council grant (with a 20 per cent cut) and to point out the importance of audience donations. The series resumes on January 11th.
MICHAEL DUNGAN
