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Powerful look at suicide’s legacy
THERE CAME A GYPSY RIDING
Almeida theatre
GAMBLING debts, drug addiction, shame or a weighty social consciousness – whichever burden led Gene McKenna to suicide one thing is certain – he didn’t give much thought for his family.
Frank McGuiness’s superb new play, performed by a stella cast to a rapturous reception, leaves you deep in contemplation.
Shakespeare’s world-weary Hamlet is our most famous suicidal character.
In his famous speech, the black prince asks why bother with life? Why put up with life constantly beating you, when you can just take the easy option and kill yourself?
The over-thinking Dane bottles it, fearing his afterlife might be worse than his present encumbrances. In his soliloquy is all the selfish side of suicide, without thought for loved-ones left to cope with that wretched legacy.
Under Michael Attenborough’s direction, the McKenna family are passed Gene’s torch of despair and made to live out his grief for the rest of their days.
The play is set in the remote west of Ireland. The family gather to mark the 21st birthday of their youngest son. But the celebration marks not the coming-of-age milestone but the second anniversary of their son’s death.
We hear how high on a cocktail of drugs and booze Gene slashed his wrists. His father Leo (Ian McElhinney) has become filthy rich through his chain of pubs. His wife Margaret (Imelda Staunton), a Donegal peasant turned scholar, has withdrawn into the ivory towers of university.
The young man’s brother and sister, here played by Aidan McCardle and Elaine Cassidy, have found careers as a bookseller and a primary school teacher.
Staunton haunts the stage like the ancient mariner. But the performance of the night came from Eileen Atkins. She played Gene’s cousin Bridget, who produces an unopened suicide note at the party that she has withheld for two years. The cryptic message increases speculation, adding to the drama.
Atkins stood out in a strong cast. Her nervy wisecracks broke the ice at the party, a defence mechanism that doubled profoundly as a window to her grief.
Cheerless, gut-wrenching, but recommended.
020 7359 4404
Until Mar 3
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