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

HEAVEN

Meat

Theatre503

Reviewed – 25th February 2020

★★★★

“Without being too polemical Greer gives clarity to a very difficult discussion with plenty of humour and humanity”

Throughout discussions popularised by the #MeToo social media campaign, there seems to have been a disconnect within the idea that since pretty much all women have experienced sexual assault in one form or another, it stands to reason that a whole bunch of men, and not just a handful of evil predators, have been doing it.

Perhaps the difficulty in swallowing this pill is due to the shades of horror that fall within the sexual assault bracket: no, not every man is Harvey Weinstein, but that doesn’t mean that a crime hasn’t been committed and that a woman doesn’t have the right to speak up.

Gillian Greer’s Meat seeks to navigate this very tricky arena. Max (India Mullen) has arranged to meet up with her college boyfriend Ronan (Sean Fox) to let him know she’s written about the night he assaulted her and that it’s going to be published. But Ronan claims he remembers it very differently, or is it that he doesn’t remember it at all? He’s a bit hazy on the subject.

This isn’t about whether Ronan is a villain. Rather it’s about recognising that he is, as Max puts it, “a good guy who did a shit thing.”

A story like this requires a lot of personality and Greer delivers. Mullen and Fox have a well-worn patter that feels natural and affectionate even when they’re fighting. Much of the script is taken up with friendly banter, giving the audience plenty of space to place Ronan’s transgression within a wider picture.

Jo (Elinor Lawless), manager of Ronan’s restaurant and interested party, is an excellent addition to the script because whilst she doesn’t play a pivotal role, nonetheless her character is absolutely necessary, as witness and judge to the night’s events. We’re never led to the brink of disbelieving Max, but our loyalties waver throughout, and Lawless serves as an excellent barometer in this regard. Her comic delivery is also masterful, near-on stealing the show. Set in Ronan’s fancy new meat restaurant (designed by Rachel Stone), animal carcases provide a disturbing backdrop and a constant reminder that we are in Ronan’s domain, making Max’s position all the more uncomfortable as she tries to stand her ground.

Instead of clearing the table between courses, food is thrown on the floor and smeared on the walls, which makes sense when Ronan comes to flip the table in a rage, but not a minute sooner. It’s not terribly distracting, but there just doesn’t seem to be any reason, beside it being difficult to artfully splatter food all over the stage in one table flip without covering the front row in foie gras.

The narrative drags a little in the middle, leaving me to wonder if there’s any more to say on the matter once the premise is set out, but the story does pick up and develop, and whilst there are no real surprises, the plot is- forgive the pun- surprisingly meaty.

As directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson, Meat is very much a story for the current climate. Without being too polemical Greer gives clarity to a very difficult discussion with plenty of humour and humanity.

HEAVEN

Traverse Theatre

★★★★

“Both actors bring an electrifyingly defiant and liberating performance to the stage”

HEAVEN

Traverse Theatre

Reviewed on 26th February 2025

by Molly Knox

Photography by Ste Murray

Previously reviewed by Molly:

HEAVEN

HEAVEN

HEAVEN

Theatre503

Reviewed – 25th February 2020

★★★★

“Without being too polemical Greer gives clarity to a very difficult discussion with plenty of humour and humanity”

Perhaps the difficulty in swallowing this pill is due to the shades of horror that fall within the sexual assault bracket: no, not every man is Harvey Weinstein, but that doesn’t mean that a crime hasn’t been committed and that a woman doesn’t have the right to speak up.

This isn’t about whether Ronan is a villain. Rather it’s about recognising that he is, as Max puts it, “a good guy who did a shit thing.”

The narrative drags a little in the middle, leaving me to wonder if there’s any more to say on the matter once the premise is set out, but the story does pick up and develop, and whilst there are no real surprises, the plot is- forgive the pun- surprisingly meaty.

As directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson, Meat is very much a story for the current climate. Without being too polemical Greer gives clarity to a very difficult discussion with plenty of humour and humanity.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Alex Brenner

Meat

Theatre503 until 14th March

Previously reviewed at this venue: