Sunday’s Child Theatre
Town Hall Theatre, Galway
March 31, 2025
***
Eva O'Connor is predominantly known for her hit play Mustard, which toured internationally and was subsequently made into a short drama as part of RTE's Storyland series. She has followed this up with her one-woman show Chicken, which had a sold-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023, picking up a plethora of four and five star reviews to boot.
The play is, as the title suggests, about an actual chicken. ‘Don Murphy’ is a Kerry cock with grand ambitions of becoming an actor. While working as an extra on a motion picture, a chance interaction with Michael Fassbender provides his big break, eventually leading to stardom.
Mainstream success, however, does not come without its drawbacks, as Don soon finds out after developing a chronic drug addiction. Countless frivolous flings with females “of the humanoid variety” further plunge him into the dark hole of stardom, cutting him off from the world, leaving only his pal, Colin Farrell, and his seedy, hairy-armed agent for company.
Things all come to a head on the set of Martin McDonagh's latest movie, where Don decides he can no longer sit back and watch as his fellow chickens are slaughtered in the name of Western civilisational greed.
Those of us sitting in the aisles collectively sink into our seats as O'Connor enters from the rear of the theatre dressed in an impressive chicken outfit. Her head darts around as she flaps her wings, slowly making her way towards the stage. Apart from the occasional visit to the poor souls seated in the front row, the vast majority of movement on stage consists of: over and back, over and back. Were it not for an actress as imposing as O'Connor, one could see this becoming slightly monotonous.
Then there is the question: what is this play really about?
There seems to be a vague sort of anti-meat-eating sentiment, but because the piece is not remotely emotional, the message is not effectively conveyed . Then again, perhaps this was never the intention. Simply put, maybe this is just a bonkers story about an Irish rooster's rise to fame? And an enjoyable one at that.
From the word go, O’Connor oozes confidence, portraying Don in a way that reaffirms she had a hand in his creation. She struts her stuff with certainty, convincingly bringing the character to life, and transporting the audience to another domain. Indeed, by maintaining a bird-like posture for the duration, she leaves us pondering the physical repercussions.
This was my first time seeing O’Connor on stage, and the performance lived up to her reputation in every way.
If for no other reason, this is a glorious opportunity to see yet another magnificently talented, young Irish actress in the flesh. And in the case of Chicken, you will have plenty of fun along the way.
