THERE is a penetrating truth in even the lesser works of Arthur Miller, and the two one act plays under the composite title of Two Way Mirror are no exception. Each has only two characters, whose situations are pitched in a world of illusion and interdependence.
In Elegy for a Lady, a middle aged, married man enters a shop selling women's things; he wants to buy something for his much younger lover, whom he believes to be dying. He opens up under the questioning of the shop's owner, also a young woman, whose questions are uncannily to the point of his confused relationship. It is a games people play piece with a punch.
Some Kind of Love Story features a private detective locked into a long term relationship with a prostitute with multiple personalities who, he is convinced, holds the key to a case he is working on. She drives him to distraction with her mercurial changes and evasiveness, and with her need for him. He is about to quit when she releases enough information to keep him on the hook, and the situation spins on, and on.
Pepe Roche grips the attention with his portrayals of the men, clearly a talent to be watched. Antoinette Guiney is less authoritative in developing the roles of the women not quite confident in accent or character, but still a sufficient support here. Anthony Davey directs this debut production of the X Ray Theatre Company; a good start.
