Review: ULSTER AMERICAN, Riverside Studios
Photo credit: Johan Persson
David Ireland’s dark comedy (that’s not quite a comedy – at least not all the way through), Ulster American, is designed to shock and start conversations, and that’s why it’s something that’s going to divide audiences. Some are going to feel it goes too far (conversations between two men about who they would choose to rape and why if they were held at gunpoint by Jesus – the answer for one character being Princess Diana – is not going to be something most people can just laugh off), but that’s the point. It does go too far, if only to prove that it’s not really far enough. There’s a lot of truth here, which is something all the characters say is important to them (they keep saying it – they never stop), when in reality, truth is an inconvenience.
That unsavoury discussion is just the starting point for this play that’s a true satire on gender, the arts, culture, and nationalism, and there’s not one nasty corner the characters don’t get to poke and prod, culminating in one of the most shockingly violent and bloody finales we’ve seen this year…and we’ve seen Sunset Boulevard!
Hollywood megastar, Jay (Woody Harrelson), and English theatre director Leigh (Andy Serkis) meet in Leigh’s home to discuss the play they’re about to start rehearsing. It’s a play by Ruth Davenport (Louisa Harland), an Irish (or, rather, British – this distinction is important) playwright who’s written about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. While she’s running late, the men talk about their theories on feminism, Ireland, and, of course, the infamous ‘light-hearted’ chat about raping Princess Diana (because, Jay says, it would be something she could turn into a positive – she was a good person like that). It’s a truly uncomfortable scene that some audience members found hilarious. We’re not so sure… some lines are desperately funny, and the way they are delivered is pure genius – but the subject matter is so dark and so utterly repellent that it takes away from some of the humour. Again, we feel it is intended. Laugh all you want, but don’t ignore that shiver up your spine and that roiling feeling in the pit of your stomach… it’s telling you something, just like the play is.
The humour comes not from what’s being said exactly, but why it’s being said. And how. These characters are constantly trying to one-up each other, desperately wanting to prove how woke and feminist they are, all the while undermining everything they’re trying to say with what they’re talking about.
The action really gets going when Ruth arrives and Leigh accidentally lets slip what the two men were talking about before she got there. After that, all hell breaks loose with accusations flying and each character using the others to get what they want; Ruth wants to further her career, Jay wants to wear an eye-patch (well… let’s just say he gets his wish), and Leigh wants to be seen as an English saviour, pulling the poor, Irish playwright (playwright from Ireland, as she herself would prefer to be called) – a woman, at that – out of the shadows and into the limelight.
Do they get what they want? No chance. But they might just get what they deserve.
It’s an absolute pleasure to watch such accomplished actors on stage. At just under two hours with no interval, a lesser play with less skilled performers would drag, but here the pace is fast, and the lines are (mostly) clever (not every joke lands quite right), and watching Harrelson, Serkis, and Harland interact with one another in the most natural of ways is a joy.
Woody Harrelson plays Jay Conway with a needy kind of desperation – he has to be the centre of attention, he has to be admired and adored, but he doesn’t want anyone to know. They come to praise him; he doesn’t ask for that praise. His performance is outstanding, and it’s clear he has a natural affinity with the stage, easily charming the audience despite playing a decidedly unlikeable character. Now that’s talent.
Andy Serkis portrays Leigh Carver as the kind of man who seems to have no real opinions of his own and frustratingly latches onto whatever someone else is saying, to the point where he constantly contradicts himself. However, when his true feelings come out at the play’s close, we see there is a viper hiding under the fluffy and confused exterior all along, and his bite is a sharp and deadly one.
On a stage filled with the most incredible talent, Louisa Harland as Ruth Davenport stands out. Ruth has a plan, and she uses everything she can to make that plan come to fruition, even when a family tragedy threatens to derail everything. Harland’s performance is something to behold, captivating and assured, showing off all of Ruth’s flaws while easily ripping the men apart.
Featuring a stellar cast, razor-sharp and intricately crafted writing, and the expert direction of Jeremy Herrin, Ulster American demands your attention. It’s an uncomfortable masterpiece that refuses to let you look away.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Lisamarie Lamb
Ulster American plays at Riverside Studios until 27 January 2024, with further information here.