PAT LAFFAN'S portrayal of the Bull McCabe, now one of the classic characters of the Irish dramatic canon, is braver and more original than that of many of his predecessors in the role. Here, violence, intimidation and blackmail are almost casual acts, no stranger than killing a tinker's pony or a troublesome donkey, all of a piece with the everyday tasks of running his small farm and acquiring Mrs Butler's field to expand his holding.
The world of the establishment is ranged against this thick necked, small eyed farmer so he will ensure that his personal writ (never written, of course) will rule over those who are no better than himself. It's all matter of fact, and he can still talk lyrically of the local wildlife and the signs of grass growing in the spring.
The effect in merely theatrical terms is somehow to lessen the sheer physical threat of the Bull, yet to make him more interesting dramatically. But last night's production, directed by Ben Barnes, was flatter than it should have been, with less variation in tone and pace than this play needs to give it maximal theatricality, so one's attention wandered in search of a sharper focus. And Nick McCall's lighting design somehow failed to light the actors' eyes (most of all the Bull's small eyes in his big face), so that the characters on stage did not seem to be making any very direct contact with one another. Fear was spoken of, but was not physically evident.
Maybe it was just one of those unlucky first night performances which will sharpen and strengthen with time, and maybe a sense of ensemble will grow, too.
There were some strong individual performances Mark O'Regan's Bird O'Donnell was archetypically sleveen, and funny with it, while Donnacha Crowley's Dandy McCabe was a nice portrayal of village showmanship. Pat Kinevan's Tadgh McCabe was well tucked into the shadow of his mountainous Da (but could have been a mite more physically threatening) and Maria McDermottroe's ever pregnant Mrs Flanagan was well balanced between fear and feistiness. John Olahan's Mick Flanagan was vigorous without quite illuminating the man's greedy deviousness and Eddie Tighe had some nice moments as the troubled young Flanagan. Tim Reed's settings of both the Flanagans pub, where all the plotting is done, and the shed by the field where the action happens were fine.
