大象传媒

The Quare Fellow @ Liverpool Playhouse.

Review by: Claire Hamilton.

It's not exactly an attractive premise - a play about the Irish equivalent of death row in the 1950s; tough criminals awaiting their fate in an Irish gaol, back when capital punishment was still the done thing. A barrel of laughs, then? Well yes, actually. The large, impressive cast created an atmosphere of rough camaraderie, making the audience laugh out loud at gruesome murder, and the finer points of hanging a 12 stone man. It's amazing what people find funny, but then it's also amazing that the death penalty was only completely abolished in Ireland in 1990.

Behan's play, though written in 1954 has stood the test of time. The questions of religion, rehabilitation and the more stomach-churning aspects of the death penalty must still be discussed in many American states today, by staff who may not want to earn their living this way, but have to none the less.

The wretchedness of a prison warden whose morality is clearly at odds with his job is movingly portrayed by Sean Campion, delivering probably the most outstanding performance of this very strong cast. The grim aspects of prison life are all graphically portrayed here as well (the first thing the audience sees when the curtain rises is the prisoners 'slopping out'). The final scene is about as black as humour can get, and finds prisoners and audience alike pondering their own mortality and whether there really is ever a situation when killing another human being is acceptable - whatever crime they've committed.

According to the programme, Director Kathy Burke (yes THAT Kathy Burke) has given up acting for good to concentrate on directing. Judging by this powerful production, Harry Enfield's loss is the theatre-goers gain.