The Passing

On the stage is a living room so familiar that you can smell your grandparents. The net curtains and three-bar electric fire probe the back of your subconscious and memories of a different age flutter to the surface. It’s your grandparents house, but it in the darkened theatre it feels hallow and empty like something or someone is missing. As the house awakens with the introduction of its family it comes lethargically to life under the hue of its 40 watts bulbs and the life of the ninth and most believable character becomes the theme of Paul Mercier’s play “The Passing”.

Set in present day Ireland with the backdrop of the economic downturn, the play focuses around the imminent sale of a deceased parent’s house and the emotions attached to the bricks and mortar. The concerned family members, gradually introduced to the audience like a “plate of broken biscuits”, are quickly discarded with minimum character development and the passing experience of the characters feels like tuning into an episode of Coronation Street for the first time. One by one siblings Catherine (Catherine Walsh), Liam (Peter Hanly) and Fiona (Cathy Rose O’Brien) arrive onstage along with spouses (Ali White and Andrew Bennett), children (Roxanna Nic Liam) and boyfriends (Nick Lee) to tell of their experiences of the house and engage other family members in a running battle. Highly strung Catherine pulls apart her struggling brother, confronts sister and affronts with her husband with ‘shock and awe’ tact in what seems like an hour and a quarter of commotion in the Abbey. During this short time, and in between the fights, the eight characters are given the opportunity to air their opinions of the house and each other. They grasp this opening and throw in their own personal dilemmas to add to confusion to their underdeveloped characters in an unconvincing soap-like performance.

Anthony Lamble’s set is the only constant and, complimented by lighting designer Kevin McFadden’s sense of realism, it turns out to be the best actor in the play. The cross-sectioned creation allows the audience to explore the entire house from their comfortable vantage points around the Abbey, from the sun trap garden to the upstairs bedrooms, and creates life-

like acoustic for the lunatic rantings of its inhabitants. When alone on stage the empty house is as engaging as the moments of intense sibling rivalry and Mel Mercier’s poignant backing music enhance and enrich these moments.

The fact that the set is shared with Mercier’s sister play ‘East Pier’ on alternating nights throughout March and April, gives credence to the family Neighbour’s (Andrew Connolly) summation at the close of the play. He tells the argumentative Catherine that all houses are the same and only differ in the personalised extensions that its owners give it. The “fortresses of green” are not built in the image of their inhabitants, rather it is the extensions built and the life given to these shells that give homes their life and makes them different. With the Passing of the head of this house it is time to move on. And, after falling out with all family members, she finally get it and leaves the house for tomorrow night’s performance.

Paul Mercier has taken on a great task with his creation and direction of his double bill at the abbey. The idea of creating two co-running plays that would enhance and compliment each other in their tales of ordinary folk in a time of uncertainty is to be commended but has he taken on too much? Sadly the characters in the Passing are underdeveloped and leave its older audience confused and unaffected by the unfolding drama onstage. One can’t help wonder if he didn’t divide his attention into two separate plays and concentrated on just the one would this tale of memory and regret have a sharper edge. By the time Catherine turns off the lights, sets the alarm and locks the door several around me have fallen asleep, the realism of the warm living room onstage more effective than the play itself.

The Passing at the Abbey Theatre 11th March to 16th April , written and directed by Paul Mercier, set design by Anthony Lamble, lighting design by Kevin McFadden, costume design by Niamh Lunny, music by Mel Mercier and sound design Ben Delaney. With Catherine Walsh, Peter Hanly, Cathy Rose O’Brien, Ali White, Andrew Bennett, Roxanna Nic Liam, Nick Lee and Andrew Connolly.