Autumn Royal

    By Joseph Cervelli 

Both sadness and despair permeate throughout Kevin Barry's new play Autumn Royal at the Irish Repertory Theater. Yet, somehow, I was never as moved as I felt I should have been in a play dealing with the plight of an unhappy and trapped brother and sister caring for their father living with them who is suffering from dementia. Part of the problem is that we have seen this type of drama before and also the lack of connection between the two characters. 

The action takes place in Cork, Ireland, in a minuscule nondescript room (the set by Charlie Corcoran features not more than a table and a glimpse of a stairway heading upstairs to where the father's bedroom is). May (Maeve Higgins) appears wearing a kind of a spangled dress top making you at first think she may have been out but more likely putting it on to make her think of being part of socializing with others.  It is no doubt that she and her brother Timothy (John Keating) rarely leave the house other than for the bare necessities.  Timothy is the far more interesting character possibly being on the spectrum. He has illusions once their dad either dies or is placed in a nursing home that he can take off surfing in Australia. He even imagines being married giving a name to his fictitious wife and daughter. May takes every opportunity in her dark and sullen disposition to burst his bubble reminding him that he nearly "surfed" in four inches of water and dislocated his elbow. Timothy has false hopes which keeps him going while the reality that May feels becomes relentlessly dire. 

When they decided to place their father in a home they go through the phone book deciding on a facility that sounds nice thus the title of the play, Autumn Royal. Never a thought about looking into the home itself. Their goal is just to get him out so they can have a life. But throughout their life they have had nothing but misfortune. Their mother walked out on them when they were children. We really learn little about their father. And it does not help that both siblings are more concerned about what neighbors think about them putting their father away. They spend a lot of the day just looking out the window criticizing their neighbors. 

There is an interesting touch with the whirring sound of a washing machine and then the washing cycle being flashed on the walls of both sides of the kitchen walls with May just motionless knowing her life is nothing more than mundane chores. Herein lies a problem with the play as directed by Ciaran O'Reilly. During the few times this takes place we should feel the agony that May is going through but she seems to be emotionless, and O'Reilly should have made this a more penetrating and meaningful scene.  It is easy to state that the character is just lost and battered from years of unhappiness, but Higgins tends to mistake darkness with blandness. The only time I found her portrayal to work is when Timothy puts on music to soothe their father from stomping around in his room and both he and may start to dance. There is a glimmer of forced happiness which is short-lived in this household 

The good news is that Keating makes his character much more believable. Timothy is living in his own world and even when he tries to take a selfie of himself to put on social media you know this is not going to go anywhere. He has a faraway look in his eyes and sees not to make much eye contact with May. Perhaps, if the playwright had built more on their relationship the play could have been more absorbing. 

I have always looked forward immensely to attending the plays put on by the wonderful Irish Rep and rarely, if ever, disappointed. I imagine there is a first time. Still, I eagerly await their next production. 

PHOTOS: CAROL ROSEGG

Tickets are available at the Irish Repertory Theatre 132 West 22nd Street.