The Big Fellah (Tour – Birmingham)

Richard Bean’s The Big Fellah is a bloody and brutish account that manages to lead its audience through a troublesome and politically unstable subject whilst providing true insight, without being patronisingly simplistic.

The action begins in 1972, following the aftermath of the events of ‘Bloody Sunday’. Subsequent to the incident, which left 14 unarmed Irish civilians dead as a result of British Paratrooper fire, the IRA saw a great swell of support. Here we are introduced to a group of seemingly normal New Yorker’s with Irish origins who actively support the IRA during their recent increase in backing.

Through Bean’s humorous dialogue and Max Stafford-Clark’s naturalistic direction the characters believably develop throughout the discourse of the production and give us an understanding of how and why they have taken the paths they have chosen. The ensemble of actors do well to bring these characters to life, despite some shaky accents to start, and interact brilliantly with one another.

The narrative runs right through until the events of 9/11, drawing a fascinating comparison between Islamic extremism and the actions of the IRA as the characters justify themselves against the conduct of fellow terrorists.

With the combination of black humour, a deeply interesting subject matter and a developed plot The Big Fellah is both informative and engagingly entertaining.

– Ben Wooldridge