Molly Sweeney

Molly Sweeney
By Brian Friel. Directed by Fiona Blair. Lighting Design – Danny Pettingill. Operator – Chris Young. Costume Designer – Fleur Thiermeyer. Presented by Footscray Community Arts Centre. The Old Van. 15 – 25 August, 2013

Brian Friel ‘s wonderfully crafted play Molly Sweeney is certainly done justice in Old Van’s ‘less is more’ production.  Nothing is out of place, extraneous or unnecessary.

Molly Sweeneyis the story of an Irish woman who had sight for the first eleven months of her life then became blind.  Through the love and care of her father she was truly integrated into her close-knit small town community and lived comfortably in her own skin.  That is until she met a man who wooed and married her. 

Friel tells an acutely perceptive and moving story, fairly evenly, from the perspective of three characters.  It is a lengthy work that builds from simple narrative to a complex reflection containing a number of rich metaphorical allegories.

This production is set in a basic ‘black box’ space, with light as the only tool for design, and staged without music or recorded sound.   This staging centralizes the voice and highlights spoken images as well as the complexity and extensive vocabulary of the text.  

Director Fiona Blair elicits lovely performances from the three actors.  Jane Nolan makes a lovable, feisty Molly.  Richard Bligh as a jilted husband and caring doctor imbues the character of Mr. Rice with just the right balance of confidence, self-doubt and self-reflection.    Michael Treloar as Molly’s ne’er-do-well opportunist husband Frank Sweeney displays qualities of a ‘lad’ who will never mature to settle down.

Really well made theatre.

Suzanne Sandow

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