By Kimberly Harper
The Gamm’s 2015-2016 season has been one hit after another, and “A Skull in Connemara,” part of a trilogy by Irish author Martin McDonagh is no exception. It’s a masterfully directed piece that will keep you on your toes – and often in stitches – from start to finish.
Mick Dowd (Jim O’Brien) has a dirty job – he digs up an overcrowded cemetery every fall to make room for new bodies. The church dictates which area to work in – seven years seems to be your limit for a spot to rest in peace at this parish – and this year Dowd is scheduled to dig up the plot of Oona, his wife who died under questionable circumstances not too long ago. Worse, he’s to be accompanied by the irreverent and loud Mairtin (Jonathan Fisher), who is not above making exhumed skulls pretend to kiss instead of digging, or getting into the finer points of whether it’s worse to die in your own sick, or by other drunken accidents.
Then there’s the spinster Maryjohnny (Wendy Overly), Mairtin’s grandmother who frequently comes by to visit Dowd after Bingo at the church. She, like the rest of the small Irish town of Connemara, has her questions about Oona’s death. To prevent further gossip or problems, Mairtin’s police officer brother, Thomas (Steve Kidd) is on hand at the exhumation, but when they open the grave, the body is gone. From there it’s a descent into madness as Mick, almost always with a drink in hand, tries unsuccessfully to cope with what’s happened, and everyone has more questions.
Effectively presenting gallows humor is difficult. Play it too carefully and you lose the humor entirely. Play it with too heavy a hand and you lose your audience. But with a good script, these excellent actors squeeze every ounce of potential humor out of the show – and there’s plenty to be found. The comedic timing between everyone is spot on, and all of them have excellent physical presence on stage. Kidd, who’s character is one of of the straight men in the show, especially has some stellar reactions to the madness going on around him. Mick Dowd is a complicated man, an engaging alcoholic who skirts and obscures the truth, and O’Brien, a skilled, subtle actor, handles the role masterfully .
The two supporting roles in the show are just as well handled. Fisher, the youngest in the cast, does exceptionally well with some physical comedy that could easily get out of control in the hands of a less seasoned actor. And Overly makes her Maryjohnny into a credulous, hysterical woman, who probably has plenty of her own secrets. We never do find out how or why she’s friends with Dowd, who by all accounts is something of the town outcast. Director Judith Swift has knocked it out of the park with this one. Designer Michael McGarty gives us a graveyard and a small, somewhat gloomy house for Dowd, complete with peat stove, and the effect is dark without being oppressive.
The set, the actors, the sound and the props all come together into a cohesive, satisfying package, but don’t expect such tidiness from the script. If you’re looking to find out what happened to Oona, you won’t. The show ends – after just one 90-minute act – with Dowd still insisting on his relative innocence and Maryjohnny shouting against him. But it’s a glimpse into the lives of some very realistic, engaging characters and that alone makes it a play worth seeing.
A Skull in Connemara runs through March 27 at the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket. Tickets are available at gammtheatre.org, or call 401-723-4266.
Kimberly Harper is a freelance journalist and copy editor who loves the performing arts. A Connecticut transplant and former full time reporter, she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Rhode Island, where she also studied theater. Since moving here she has worked with many community theaters throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
