Review: PORTIA COUGHLAN, Almeida Theatre

Photo credit: Marc Brenner

Almeida Theatre has consistently set a high-quality standard with its productions, and this revival of Marina Carr’s Portia Coughlan is no exception.

The lights go up. It’s Portia’s 30th birthday. We can immediately tell that this is not a celebration. As the play progresses, we discover that Portia’s 30th also marks the 15th anniversary of her twin brother’s death, a loss that she has never been able to recover from and that no one around her wants to deal with. During this intense and heart-wrenching performance, we watch Portia’s efforts as she struggles to make sense of her life, of the people in it and, ultimately, of herself.

Every member of the cast puts forth an impressively strong performance, but special praise must be given to Alison Oliver, whose performance is remarkably powerful and multi-layered, and approaches Portia’s mental health struggles with incredible respect and truthfulness. There is much to be said, of course, about the fact that this is a female part written, directed, and portrayed by women, a fact that inevitably steers Oliver’s performance away from the “hysterical woman”, a harmful stereotype that’s unfortunately still very present.

Challenging stereotypes surrounding the female identity and a woman’s place in the world is a recurrent theme within the play, particularly stereotypes relating to all the different roles that a woman is expected to fulfil. “Daughter”, “sister”, “wife”, “mother” are all given titles which always define a woman in relation to someone else, usually a man. All female characters within the play struggle with the burden that comes hand-in-hand with those roles, but particular focus is placed on Portia’s rejection of her role as a mother, a statement which echoes the sociopolitical landscape in Ireland at the time the play was written. While a lot has changed, women around the world today are still called to justify their decision of not wanting to embrace motherhood, which is one of the reasons that this play is still as relevant as ever.

In her desperate efforts to escape her grief and her caged existence, Portia turns to nature and music. Maimuna Memon’s otherworldly songs, paired with brilliant lighting and an ingenious set design, transport us exactly where Portia is longing to escape to, and we are mesmerised as we watch the title character’s perception of reality unravel.

This expertly directed production of Portia Coughlan confronts difficult emotions in a way that is both moving and impactful, and poses questions that are as pertinent now as they’ve ever been. It is a piece of theatre that challenges the audience and makes us feel uncomfortable in the most necessary way.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Erifyli Gigante

Portia Coughlan plays at the Almeida Theatre until 18 November, with further information here.