This is the European premiere of a play by the gay Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard, whose work tends to deal with small-town Quebec and its interaction with outsiders of all kinds.

Victor brings his brothers Karl (due to be married that day) and Ambrose (whose boyfriend is dying of AIDS) to the spot where they watched their father drown 15 years ago. They crash but seem eerily unconcerned about their injuries and more preoccupied with dealing with their differences. Gradually, it dawns on them that they are not going home.

Michel Marc Bouchard's writing deftly hides and then reveals the crucial pieces of the jigsaw of the brothers' past, while his three characters pull no punches in addressing their issues. Ambrose is angry and uptight, despite his liberation, while his two brothers are so traumatised by their father's death and their part in it that they sleepwalk through life.

Nick Devlin as Victor rings true with his matter-of-fact manner, Keith Burke conveys Carl's need to be 'normal', while Stephen Wilson lets Ambrose's anger subside as he accepts his fate.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Keith Burke - Carl. Nick Devlin - Victor. Stephen Wilson - Ambrose.

Company Credits: Writer - Michel Marc Bouchard. Translator - Linda Gaboreau. Director - Michele Panella. Lighting - Lighting - Peter Lee. Sound - Eva Scro. Costumes - Kate Connaughton. Producer - Producer - Peter Hussey. Company - Crooked House Theatre Company (Newbridge, Ireland) in collaboration with Associazione Culturale Tri-boo (Florence, Italy)

END

(c) Colman Higgins 2008

reviewed Wednesday 14 May 08 / Connolly Theatre @ Liberty Hall

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008