Dermot (Lament For Arthur Cleary) Bolger's one-man play addresses issues both wide (the dispossession of Ireland's young Sixties generation, the country's identity in Europe) and personal (the slow evaporation of childhood friendships), through one fan's journey to the 1988 European Football Championships. The community of soccer fandom is a potent symbol for all that's missing from the lives of Eoin and his fellows. Bolger's intelligence and ear for the rhythms of spoken language combine to produce a piece that's not afraid to be thoughtful but is never portentous. Performer Alexander Downes and director Jim O'Hanlon overcome cramped theatre conditions in a commanding, affecting production.
Written for The Independent.
Copyright © Ian Shuttleworth; all rights reserved.
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