The Seafarer

The Devil to pay

THE SEAFARER is messy. The play opens on Christmas Eve in the living room of a snow bound cottage on the north coast of Dublin. The room is filled with the considerable detritus of the lives of two ego-centric, inter-dependant, alcoholic middle-aged brothers. Richard is physically blind, garrulous and manipulative. Sharky is morally blind, solitary and violent. The tension rises fast as the brothers goad, probe and resurrect their sordid and sad pasts. Then, in the style of Pinter, the tension rises again when a third man enters the room. Ivan is the foil, bumping into furniture and bouncing off bluster, somewhat like Buster Keaton in a film by Samuel Beckett.

There are powerful echoes of Beckett, Pinter and the Farrelly brothers throughout the play. These are amplified when Nicky and Lockhart enter the room and eventually cause the tension to leap into overdrive. Finally, after an hour of drinking, jibing and Gaelic banter, there is a reveal that really escalates the tension and promises a significant twist or twisted Second Act. These are the best moments of the play and William Zappa’s performance here is memorable. His insect-like movement reminded me of Klaus Kinski in Nosferatu. Unfortunately, interval passes, then much of the hour of the Second Act passes, accompanied by more drinking, consumption of junk food and poker playing. But the promise of a new direction to a higher plane is never realised. Maybe they should have played chess (there are echoes of Bergman’s The Seventh Seal).

The characters are well drawn and the very capable and talented cast do a fine job of depicting these fragile tormented men trapped in their living purgatory. The play is enjoyable and funny, but a little long and somewhat repetitive. The story is messy. It promises more than it ultimately delivers. In The Seafarer the devil is in too much detail.

Stephen Carnell