The Job Interview

This an extremely well written play that demonstrates a fine balance in the way that it marries absurdism with realism. The text portrays what looks like an ordinary run of the mill job interview. However, as the interview progresses it becomes increasingly unorthodox and at times even nightmarish. Although there are many surreal qualities in the text, the staging provides are very naturalistic setting. This completely belies the offbeat conversation that unfolds.

The interviewer (Kathryn Tohill) gives an extraordinary performance and captures the bizarre nature of the situation and her character perfectly. The interviewee (Esther Myles) provides a steady contrast to the ludicrous interrogation that Tohill delivers. The rapport between the two characters also effectively conveys the serious power imbalance that the interviewer creates by asking somewhat unnerving and often highly inappropriate questions. The staging could have explored the space further in order to open up the dialogue to the audience and to accentuate the absurdism.   

Nonetheless, the text is beautifully executed, and all the comedy is fully explored with great attention to detail. The performers’ command of the timing and emphasis of the lines goes a long way in ensuring the exactness of the humour. The dialogue is not totally divorced from reality, and this makes it all the more frightening and amusing. This is a clever way to highlight the often-ridiculous nature of real-life situations that purport to be serious but really belong in the realm of fantasy.

Patricia Di Risio 

Photographer: Darren Gill