HEAVEN
Traverse Theatre
★★★★
“Both actors bring an electrifyingly defiant and liberating performance to the stage”
Heaven is a masterfully executed piece of theatre. Centring around the relationship between a wife and husband (Mairead and Mal) of twenty or so years, reckoning with their future and attending a wedding whilst doing so. The pair separately explore whirlwinds of their own mid-life crises and flirt with what life has and has had to offer them.
Set in the Irish midlands, the play teems with vivid storytelling that transports audiences to the spaces it travels through. From cheesy wedding dancefloors in local hotels, to the high streets Mairead and Mal know so intimately, Eugene O’Brien’s writing elegantly moves the audience through these character’s lives as they hurtle out of control in clashing ways. O’Brien’s writing entangles gorgeously with Jim Culleton’s direction which see saws focus between the couple. Though not always on board with the Mairead and Mal’s choices, the audience can’t help but lean in to hear what will happen next. From the moment the house lights and Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ fade down, and we are confronted with Mairead’s matter of fact-ness and bubbling dissatisfaction, the audience hangs on Janet Moran’s (Mairead) every pause, breath, and word.
Moran and Andrew Bennett’s (Mal) chemistry intriguingly transcend the two ever having to share a glance or direct dialogue with one another. As they battle with their struggling marriage, their disconnect is made crystal clear through this brilliant piece of direction and writing. It is a shame, however, that not more of this chemistry between the two is utilised with even a smidge more interaction between the two. Moments where their monologues lead on from one another are some of the comedic highlights of the piece. Between monologues, Zia Bergin-Holly’s lighting and set design perfectly move the action where it needs to go- beautifully utilising the glow from inside a pub or under a streetlight to shift between the two characters to new ideas, motives and spaces. I would be keen to see how the full use of the depth of stage could enhance this play further.
Though the piece is certainly enjoyable and intriguing, much of it begs the question of what it wants the audience to take from it. The precision of this answer, at times, feels lacking. Mal’s journey of exploring his sexuality coupled with, shall we say, fascination with religious icons, marks a grappling with Mal’s key conflict. This aspect of the play is tenderly explored, as well as played for laughs. The balance between the comedic and serious considerations of Mal’s relationship to Jesus, could perhaps be deserving of greater plainness. It is hard for audiences to discern where the laughter of the situation’s absurdity stops and the pity of it all begins.
Both actors bring an electrifyingly defiant and liberating performance to the stage, commanding the play’s language and pacing deftly. Whilst Heaven is unafraid to sit in the quiet and uncomfortable moments of the story, it similarly moves with ferociously enjoyable speed through its hilariously awkward and quick moving plot points. Bennett’s entire sequence through the wedding as he is faced with cross-roads and upheavals in his own sense of self, is a privilege to watch. Furthermore, Moran’s comedy acting brushed again her truly saddening reflections on the state of her relationships and purpose in life showcase her depth of character and strength as an actor.
The light and shade of this play is extraordinarily out of this world. Heaven suggests what we mean to each other and ourselves in our relationships, and where to go from rock bottom; it speaks to a raw and flawed humanity in its characters that simply cannot be bottled.
HEAVEN
Traverse Theatre
Reviewed on 26th February 2025
by Molly Knox
Photography by Ste Murray
Previously reviewed by Molly:
PRESENT | ★★★★ | December 2024
GWYNETH GOES SKIING | ★★★★ | November 2024
ST MAUD | ★★★ | October 2024
MAISIE ADAM: APPRAISAL | ★★★★ | October 2024
IS THE WI-FI GOOD IN HELL? | ★★★★★ | August 2024
MY MOTHER’S FUNERAL:THE SHOW | ★★★★★ | August 2024
CRYING SHAME | ★★★★★ | August 2024
TIT SWINGERS | ★★★★ | August 2024
