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Synopsis The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself What happens when our deepest secrets are finally revealed? Dublin bus conductor Alfie Byrne is content reading Oscar Wilde poetry to his passengers and staging plays in his local church. But when forced to confront a lifelong secret, Alfie must learn to face his true nature and finally take a stand in the world. With a powerful story, loveable characters and a stunning score, A Man of No Importance celebrates the genius of Oscar Wilde, the boisterous streets of Dublin, and the bumps along the road to self-discovery.
If you shy away from the word ‘charming’ when applied to musicals, don’t see this one. Likewise ‘bittersweet’. A Man of No Importance (book by Terrence McNally) is based on the movie of the same name, and was first produced in New York, winning an award for Best Off-Broadway Musical in 2003.
Act One winds its way to the none-too-startling revelation that our hero, Alfie Byrne, a Dublin bus conductor in love with poetry, drama and, in particular, the works of Oscar Wilde, is himself in thrall to the love that dare not speak its name. Act Two charts the belated rite of passage by which he faces up to his true nature, finds degradation and, ultimately, acceptance. A none-too-startling plot either, and, given the fact that the show is set in an Ireland where bus conductors are still respected members of the community, and still clip passengers’ tickets, it has bucketfuls of the aforementioned bittersweet charm and a liberal helping of sentimentality.
The production, directed by Ben De Wynter, is a low-budget, small-space marvel. Stephen Flaherty’s music is haunting and evocative, if overly reliant on the lilting tones of flute and penny-whistle, and Lynn Ahrens’s lyrics are sharp and well-characterised. A lament on Alfie’s preoccupation with books is particularly memorable.
Alfie’s great ambition is to stage an amateur production of Wilde’s Salomé, which, in a tight-knit Catholic community, is doomed, rather too obviously, to an inglorious end. The chief pleasure of this show, however, is not the subtlety (or otherwise) of the plotting, but the ensemble playing of the cast. Olivier Award-winner Paul Clarkson has just the right combination of believable innocence and beguiling zeal as Alfie, enthusing his loyal band of bus passengers with the nature of art, and Róisín Sullivan, the shy girl from Roscommon who is persuaded to be his Salomé, is a delight. Also notable in a 17-strong cast are Anthony Cable as a widower who still misses the cuddles of his ample wife, Paul Monaghan as Alfie’s leading man and subsequent betrayer, and Joanna Nevin as his long-suffering sister.
The Oscar Wilde angle (and yes, he does make an appearance, to spur on our timid hero) is tiresome and too clunking a device, but if you want a good-hearted show to send you out into a wintry night with a smile on your face, this one will more than do the trick.
fab one of the most amazing plays i enjoyed it alot. brill cast !!! - scarlett de wynter
15 Nov 10
Considering the price of seeing a West End musical, £15 to see this gem of a show must rank as the best value in town. Ahrens and Flaherty's beautiful, exhilarating score combines with Terence McNally's meaty, captivating book about a 1960s Dublin bus conductor who lives for his amateur theatre company while in denial about "the love that dare not speak it's name", to become that rare thing: a musical about which one would not change a single element. Very funny, deeply moving, this is theatre at it's most life-enhancing. Ben De Wynter's production is absolutely first rate, and it is complemented by a wonderfully atmospheric set and lighting design, and Phyllida Crowley-Smith's high octane choreography is probably the best I've ever seen in such a small space. Congratulations to Tom Lorcan on the casting: there is not a single weak link in this terrific ensemble. All of the acting is first rate and the choral singing positively thrills the blood. It seems invidious to single anyone out, as they are all so brilliant, but I must mention Paul Clarkson who gives a towering central performance: gorgeously well sung and acted beautifully. Also, Roisin Sullivan as what might have the love interest in a more conventional musical is a wonderful find. All in all, this is an absolute must-see and one that is infinitely superior to the majority of musicals in the West End at the moment. It fully deserves to transfer, so long as the special magic it currently weaves can be preserved. - ajh
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