WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT there were rednecks and trailer trash in Ireland? They turn up in Ronan Noone’s award-winning play “The Blowin of Baile Gall,” and they are riddled with hatred, resentment, and violence. As well as a certain Irish charm and reluctant humor.
Baile Gall is a small town in southwestern Ireland and “blowin” is not slang for “blowing.” It means “an outsider or foreigner” — and that includes everyone not born and bred in Baile Gall. And most especially Laurence (John Brooks), a newcomer from (horrors!) Nigeria.
Laurence has been hired as “cheap labor” to work on the restoration of an old house by Sam (Blake Bowen), a local boy newly returned from America. Sam, whom the others call “Yank,” has become something of a blowin as well, since he has adopted the conceits of an American construction boss and manages his crew by stressing the differences between them.
Representing Baile Gall’s trailer trash set is Eamon (Tim Hamelen), an angry, bigoted, and manipulative young man who grew up in the house they are all currently restoring. A loser and welfare-cheat, Eamon is mocked by Sam for not being able to make a living in Ireland in boom times when, as Sam says, “this country is flying.”
And rounding out the crew are an ill-matched couple: the born-again, recovering alcoholic Stephen (Dan O’Brien), still considered a blowin after 15 years in the town, and Molly (Simone Sullivan), who clings to him as her last chance before spinsterhood. As Eamon notes, “She’s well past her expiry date.”
Molly is the pivotal character in this drama as she tries to foster and maintain a certain congeniality among the men. Beautiful, warm, but with a sharp mind (and tongue) of her own, she is a fitting match for them. She exercises control by catering to their most visceral needs: The African Laurence and the orphaned Stephen’s need to “fit in,” and Sam’s need to be the boss. At the same time, she attempts to pacify Eamon’s vicious obsessions, although that is a particularly disheartening and thankless job.
Eamon is most vicious in his treatment of Laurence, whom he mocks and vilifies, but it is Stephen that he taunts into destructive action. There are several intense fist-fights, but they are only partially convincing; they appear to be choreographed so as to prevent the participants from really hurting each other. Chokeholds are positioned awkwardly and knockout punches miss by a mile. But the eruption of anger is very real indeed. And so is the murder.
Matthew Cullinan, making his Los Angeles directorial debut, is a recent graduate of Boston College. Playwright Ronan Noone also has Boston roots: he is an alumnus of the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, home of the Graduate Playwriting Program of Boston University. He is also the winner of the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding New Script (Boston’s Elliot Norton was considered “the dean of American theater critics”) and the winner of the Independent Reviewers of New England Award for Best New Script. Boston, and Massachusetts itself, has always had a close connection with Ireland: nearly a quarter of the population of the state claims to be of Irish descent.
But you don’t need to be Irish to understand and enjoy this play. The characters are clearly drawn and the actors are extremely good. Matthew Cullinan, in addition to directing, designed the effective chewed-up set, and Angela Markman provided the tacky, paint-splattered costumes. So, after spending the evening with these working stiffs from Baile Gall, I guarantee you won’t feel at all like a blowin.
“The Blowin of Baile Gall” can be seen Thurdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through June 29 at the Lyric Theatre, 520 North La Brea Ave., in Los Angeles. Call (323) 939-9220 for tickets.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 6, 2008. Read the original PDF.