Presented by Brokentalkers and Adrienne Truscott
Town Hall Theatre, Galway, June 11, 2024.
Score: 3/5
By Oisín Flores Sweeney
As a white, male playwright, this was an incredibly difficult play to review, and those who have seen Brokentalkers’ Masterclass will understand precisely what I mean.
Generally, the rule with political theatre is to pose more questions than answers; to allow the audience to formulate an opinion, rather than hammering them over the head with your own.
Brian Friel, of course, was a master at this. More recently, Cristín Kehoe’s Shelter, which tackled the prevalent issue of poverty and homelessness in Dublin, did so with great subtlety and finesse, forcing audience members to reassess their treatment of those on the fringes of society.
Masterclass, however, is not so subtle. Its overall message, albeit mildly playful and tongue-in-cheek (I think ) - is that white, male artists need to get out of the way to allow women to have their time. Now, there are many who would agree whole-heartedly with this idea, given that men have dominated the world of art for centuries.
That being said, the only problem with Masterclass, if indeed there is a problem at all, is that it probably is not as radical as it thinks it is. This may well be down to the ridiculously long time it takes to actually get a play produced, as there is a real possibility that Masterclass was conceived pre-Covid.
Since that time, The Abbey has announced its line-up for 2024, and Landmark Productions revealed its six new plays for Theatre for One; not a single male playwright was selected for either series. Furthermore, the quip towards the end of Masterclass that white men find it easier to get theatre funding in Ireland feels a little bit unfair, with many theatrical types being of the opinion that it is actually the opposite at present: that of all the boxes The Arts Council has to tick when distributing their funding, ‘White Male’ is not one of them.
Nevertheless, it is important to remember that this play (or the first half of it, at least ) is a farce, and a rather enjoyable one at that. The performances of Adrienne Truscott and Feidlim Cannon are riveting, delivering pronounced diction and energetic movement which invokes great laughter and entertainment.
The set takes us back in time, feeling like something out of an episode of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and the lighting works well to transport us from cheerful moments to darker, more serious scenes.
Overall, this was an enjoyable night out and a thought-provoking piece, even if the message feels like something we may have seen or heard before.
