10th Sept 2019
I saw Iris when it was first performed at Live Theatre and I remember it as a darkly funny, emotional and tragic piece of theatre. Going along to see it again this week, I did wonder if it would have the same impact - after all, I already knew the plot with all its twists and turns, so there would be no surprises. But, written by Alison Carr one of the stalwarts of The People's Theatre, this is a play that was coming home. It was bound to be something special.
A play that explores family and relationships, the nature of motherhood, love and hate, responsibility, abandonment, guilt, success and failure, it covers a huge spectrum. And performed in the studio, with a cast of just three, and with some of the action taking place within arm's length of the audience it was always going to be intense.
Two sisters have just buried their mother - Iris. Julie the elder has been away for many years, and had a difficult relationship with Iris, while Ruby, the youngest has been very close to Iris; perhaps too close. On the day of the funeral Julie disappears from the wake and returns later, drunk, with a man in tow.
Emma Weetch plays the older sister Julie - a mess of contradictions, desperate for some human contact yet rejecting any show of affection or sense of connection when it is offered. She is scratchy and awkward and at times downright abusive. But there are cracks in her armour that begin to spread and widen as the play progresses.
Stephen Sharkey gives a deceptively understated performance as Gerry, the unfortunate man caught up in the middle as the two sisters fight and spit a each other like cats. Equally desperate for human contact but in a completely different way to Julie, he hides behind an array of bad jokes and astonishing facts on almost any subject - like a walking encyclopaedia. He offers advice for every situation sounding as Ruby puts it "like a self help book". Of the three characters, he is the most likable and yet also the saddest and perhaps most tragic with his doggedly optimistic veneer hiding a lonely and sorrowful life.
Sarah Mulgrew plays the younger, damaged teenager, Ruby. Like Julie , she is damaged emotionally and psychologically, but Ruby is also physically damaged - having lost an eye in a childhood accident. From her first appearance on stage Sarah Mulgrew exudes a mix of angst and apathy and teenage antipathy. Though all three actors gave brilliant performances, Sarah was the outstanding performance of the night for me - she was completely convincing in her role.
Though I knew what was coming I was still entirely engaged throughout the play - anticipating some of the events and recognising and remembering others as they happened. The second act almost had me in tears as the truth of the sisters situation began to be revealed. it was a highly charged, emotional experience.
An excellent start to the new season, Iris plays until Saturday, and is sold out. If you have a ticket, you are in for a rare treat - take your tissues. If you don't have a ticket, get your name down on the waiting list and hope someone else cancels!
Denise Sparrowhawk
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