Breaking
Draíocht, Blanchardstown
★★★★☆
Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina famously opens with the line “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” How does this aphorism stand up when it is the same unhappy couple being played by multiple actors of different genders, races, backgrounds and accents?
This is the central question poised by Breaking, the debut play from Amy Kidd, which follows Charlie, an exuberant, fun and constantly broke shift worker, and the reserved, anxious Sammy, who toils away at an unspecified white-collar gig, as they deal with what seems like typical couple bickering – issues about work, money, friends and emotional availability all arise in the first few scenes.
As Breaking develops, Charlie and Sammy are played by a rotating cast of four compelling actors: Curtis-Lee Ashqar, Eavan Gaffney, Matthew Malone and Jeanne Nicole Ní Áinle.
A lover’s dispute over who pays the bill and all it represents looks different when it’s a Sapphic relationship versus a heterosexual one. It looks different again if the person unable to cover the bill is the man in a straight couple versus a party in a queer partnership. And the effect can vary hugely: you might find it endearing when Ashqar playfully asks “Do you love me?” but squirm when Gaffney asks the same question later, in an otherwise identical scene.
Breaking: Two characters, four actors and a rotating series of scenes, emotions and meanings
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The audience’s response to scenes of domestic violence, coercive control and emotional abuse can be informed by power dynamics and by class, race and sexual politics. Malone is particularly compelling when he plays Charlie, for example, versus when he inhabits the world of timid Sammy.
The risk that Breaking, which is produced by Fishamble, could feel like a drama-class exercise is avoided by Kidd’s clarity of vision. “I believe it serves the presentation of this text for each actor to be from a different cultural background and race where possible,” she explains, adding, “The exploration of gender, race, sexuality and any other differences should be led by curiosity and not seeking to provide an answer or make a particular point.”
Perhaps taking a lead from Brian Friel, Kidd establishes her clever theatrical device early in the play, before the audience realise its power in this challenging tale that deals with intimate partner violence and identity politics while avoiding tiresome tropes.
Continues at Draíocht, as part of Dublin Theatre Festival, until Saturday, October 5th, then runs at the Everyman, Cork, on Tuesday, October 8th, and Wednesday, October 9th
