Swing

This is a show about dance – swing, of course! – and the marvellous range of people who learn swing in one studio in Ireland. With only two actors, Arthur Riordan who plays Joe and Gene Rooney who plays May, they also produce a veritable dance school of characters. The audience is taken on a learning journey with the characters who evolve, improve, or disappear as the play progresses. It is greatly to the actors’ credit that the on-set character changes (to the cry of “Change partners!”) are instantly recognisable from their voices, their gait, mannerisms, dance ability, and more. Here we see the divas, the shy, the overly-affectionate and those tired of each other.

As those with nearly two left feet know (or at least, a right foot and a left foot that doesn’t quite know how to be coordinated!), there’s an element of bravery to step into a new dance class. The dance instructors demonstrate the steps for each variety of swing, moving towards the Lindy Bop, and Joe and May find that they dance well as a couple. There were surely more than a few people in the stalls muttering along “Five, six, seven, eight!” as Joe and May learned each new step.

Yet along with the along with the comic potential of some characters comes the wistfulness and hope of a chance to try something new, even if one is no longer young.

The lighting design and sound design complement the direction. A simple set design leaves room for dancing.

This one-act play runs for an hour, and every minute is full of narrative and humour.

Rachel McGrath-Kerr