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THERE was little need for sound effects during an exclusive press preview night of the Manama Theatre Club’s latest offering before it opens to theatre-lovers tonight.
A storm raged overhead with lightning flashes and rain thundering down on to the roof of the Brit Club in weather more likely to be witnessed across the Irish Sea than the Gulf.
The scene was aptly set for a devilishly dramatic piece of dark comedy, a supernatural ghost story and a modern day tale of guilt and the demon ‘drink’, with a clever twist and some stunning performances by a five-strong male cast.
It is Christmas Eve in Baldoyle (or perhaps a compound off Budaiya), a coastal suburb north of Dublin City, and Sharky, played by St Christopher School’s English teacher Ben Davies, has been forced to return home to live with his cranky blind brother Richard (Dan Moloney).
Life appears to have dealt Sharky a bad hand but it’s about to get a whole lot worse when the man he lost his sweetheart to, charmer Nicky Giblin (Lee Cudmore), comes to play cards with a businessman in tow, Mr Lockhart (Khaled Al Dossary).
The rascal and family friend Ivan Curry (Ashley Kingstone) is already in situ after a heavy session and looking like a few of my friends did the night after the recent St Patrick’s Day Ball at the Radisson-Blu.
Stunningly, only Moloney is the one true Irishman amongst them, and they have mastered the tongue superbly, no-more so than Al Dossary, a Saudi-born Bahraini, who meticulously studied his refined Dublin accent and pulls it off magnificently.
That’s not all, he truly oozes stage presence and amplifies evil when he’s at his cruelest and calmest best and, without giving the plot away, let’s just say that there’s more to Mr Lockhart than meets the eye and poor old Sharky has crossed paths with him before.
There’s a lot more at stake than money and only one winner … perhaps.
This is a riveting theatrical experience and director Hannah Turner, pictured above, must be delighted she determinedly pushed for this production to be staged after watching it performed on Broadway. The production team also includes director Mike Enright, assistant producer Carrie Bell and a superb set designed and managed by Karen Ralph.
I must warn readers, it’s adult-only, not for the faint-hearted or those easily upset by the use of colloquial expletives. But it’s a great craic with mightily memorable performances by the complete cast.
Editor’s note: The show runs until Saturday and tickets priced BD7 are available from the British Club and Al Osra Saar and Amwaj Islands. For more details visit www.facebook.com/manamatheatreclub
