A TOUCH OF THE POET (Irish Repertory Theatre/Stream Theatre)****

  

By Cal

Link: https://www.stream.theatre/season/100 

Available until: On demand until Sunday 25^th May at 11.59pm

There are a lot of unusual things about A Touch of the Poet, but one thing that stands out in particular is the fact that there’s a very important character who is never seen.

Simon Harford is a guest at the Melody family’s inn. He was taken in by their daughter Sara when she found him unwell. Sara loves him and wants to marry him. Simon is the son of a man Sara’s father Con doesn’t like (and who also doesn’t appear) and a woman he likes a bit too much. Simon is arguably also the title character in that he’s described as having a touch of the poet, but although he touches the characters’ lives (and tears them apart), he is never seen. (To be fair, I’d probably hide in the bedroom too if Con was around.)

Although the issues brought up in this play have been present in the family for a long time and are ongoing problems of which Sara is fully aware, it is the presence of Simon that informs many of the actions of the characters. Perhaps he’s not so much a poet as a muse who inspires or triggers outpourings of harrowing emotion on this very eventful night.

A Touch of the Poet was planned as a staged production. This obviously couldn’t happen, but the Irish Repertory Theatre decided to film the play instead, with the actors recording their roles from home. Four of them are in New York City, where the company is usually based; three are in New Jersey. Further afield, we have actors in Tennessee, South Dakota and… Berlin, Germany. It’s the kind of thing that shocked me (in a good way) at the start of the pandemic, but seems completely normal now.

The actors filmed in their own homes, but you wouldn’t guess from looking at them. They look as though they’re all on Charlie Corcoran’s set. The superimposition of the actors onto the set was done by video editor Sarah Nichols and it really is exceptional. There are a couple of slightly odd moments with a mirror that shows Con as he is rather than a reflection and some kissing that has to take place half out of shot, but that was honestly all I noticed. It’s an incredible achievement and I wonder if more theatres will adopt it as I understand the plan is for a certain amount of digital theatre to continue. The set also works very well: it’s very convincing as an inn, but it’s full of furniture. It would have been so easy for an actor to look like they’ve walked into the furniture no matter how well you superimpose them.

Director Ciarán O’Reilly has got some very fine performances from his actors. I don’t know if it was originally filmed on Zoom, with all the characters onscreen and watching each other, but he’s got them all looking the right way at the right time and yet it all seems natural. It’s very impressive. (One of the reviews I read says there are times when the actors aren’t always looking straight at one another, but although this would be understandable and expected, it wasn’t something I was aware of. And there are certainly plenty of moments in the play when the characters might not want to look each other in the eye.)

Eugene O’Neill’s script is dramatic and angst-laden and it would probably be very easy either to exaggerate it far too much or to underplay it, but this cast judge everything perfectly. It’s tense and emotional from the start, but the cast keep finding higher levels of emotion and a greater sense of drama and danger. Even though a lot of the characters are saying the same thing over and over again, it feels different each time.

Robert Cuccioli, who also appeared in Red Bull Theater’s Paradise Lost Part 1, is extraordinary as Cornelius ‘Con’ Melody. He is angry and aggressive, treating his wife and daughter despicably… actually, there probably isn’t anyone he treats well. The performance is frightening to watch at times (at least when you don’t know the play). Robert really makes it seem as though Con is capable of anything.

Kate Forbes plays Con’s wife Nora. She’s downtrodden and unhappy, but Kate gives her an unexpected strength that really makes me admire the character. Their daughter Sara is headstrong and rebellious and doesn’t really understand Nora’s acceptance of Con’s behaviour, but Belle Ackroyd also gives her a powerful and passionate sweetness. I really hope this Simon is worth all the fuss. His stately, superior mother Deborah, brilliantly-played by Mary McCann, isn’t someone I’d want as my mother-in-law.

The brilliant cast also includes Andy Murray (no, not that one) as the rude and challenging Jamie, and David Sitler’s Patch who probably steals his scenes with his beard alone. Ciaran Byrne (Dan), David O’Hara (Paddy) and John C. Vennema (Nicholas Gadsby) complete a very strong cast.

A very exciting performance of a very emotional play.