A prostitute, an Irish Catholic, and an army enlistee walk into a bar… Well, kind of. The ‘bar’ is the Oxford Arms, above which is situated the Etcetera Theatre, and the characters are part of Pah-Moo-Chi’s first production, Shine. A result of the devising efforts of Caolfionn Murphy, Jane Lawler, and Sammy Conway, Shine presents three people reflecting on their lives, choices, and relationships.
There are some good moments in this production, notably the comic timing of ‘Myra’ (the aforementioned Catholic). The script flows well between characters, seamlessly moving from one internal monologue to the other, giving each actor time to develop the narrative of their character. Murphy, Lawler, and Conway are also convincing in their reactions to the imagined ‘fourth characters’; a crying infant and a homeless person conjured-up through dialogue and each character’s physical response.
Where Shine falters however, is the niggling feeling that we’ve seen this all before. The minimal set, the fragmented musings, and the lack of traditional dialogue feels somehow a bit tired. The acting was good but the sad truth is that a cliche is still a cliche however well you portray it. This reliance on stock characters and motivations - of course the prostitute doesn’t want to tell her fiancé, of course the ‘mummy’s boy’ feels he must prove himself as a man - really lets the show down
Shine has a talented cast, and a few good ideas, but needs to find a fresh way to present them.
