Having recently suffered agonies of embarrassment at 59E59 Theaters thanks to the confusing Irish slang employed in Spinning the Times, it was with some relief that I read the glossary of terms included in the program for The Pride of Parnell Street. Along with obvious words like “knackered” and “nappies” are some truly helpful definitions, like “scag” (heroin) and popular Irish rebel Kevin Barry. They may not help decipher the sometimes impenetrable Irish accents of Aidan Kelly and Mary Murray as an estranged couple, but at least you’re left with the feeling that you’ve done the best that you can.
Unfortunately, the personal glow of accomplishment may be the most consistently gratifying thing about Parnell. A series of alternating monologues—a “he said, she said” format—delivered by Janet (Murray) and Joe (Kelly), Sebastian Barry’s play is heavy on sordid details and light on surprises. There’s always a feeling that we’re one step ahead of the plot, as revelations come creeping in that we’ve already intuitively guessed thanks to the subtle acting and strong direction from Jim Culleton.
At times, this prior knowledge actually helps the play, letting us sit back and observe how the actors present their stories. Murray, who has been given the evening’s most painful monologues, makes Janet a cheery survivor who only occasionally cracks beneath the weight of what she’s lived through. Not just a traumatizing terrorist bombing childhood from her childhood, but the night the Irish team lost the World Cup in 1990, when Joe came home and beat her, as he tells us later, until he could hear “bones cracking” beneath his fists. But even as life heaps tragedy and hard times on Janet, there’s never the sense that she’s a victim. Murray and Barry have too much affection for this tough lady to let that happen, endowing her with a welcome sense of humor and a refusal to be defined by what she’s lived through.
If Kelly has a harder time of it as Joe, it’s partly because Janet opens the show. We’re firmly on her side by the time Joe starts talking to us from a hospital bed, suffering from an unnamed ailment. In another overly well-done job (from the makeup department, this time), we’ve already figured out why he’s in the hospital long before he finally tells us. But in a way, knowing allows us the chance to more closely examine Joe, who quickly reveals himself as an untrustworthy narrator. All the truths eventually come out, but when he first starts telling his story, he’s clearly not ready to examine the ways he’s disappointed both Janet and himself. And if Barry walks a fine line between drama and soap opera, he does afford audiences the opportunity to watch two beautifully transparent performances from Murray and Kelly—and a chance to familiarize themselves with Irish rock band Thin Lizzy.
Through Oct. 4. At 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St. (between Park & Madison Aves.), 212-279-4200. $35.
