Outside Mullingar
By John Patrick Shanley presented by the English Theatre of Hamburg with Clifford Dean directing Seamus Newham ( Tony Reilly ) and Nora Connolly ( Aoife Muldoon ) in Outside Mullingar . ( Photo by Stefan Koch )
Outside Mullingar runs through April 10 . Closing the Season is Patrick Cargill ’ s Don ’ t Misunderstand Me , a fast-paced comedy premiering April 21 .
Tickets online ( eth-hamburg . de ) or at the theater , Lerchenfeld 14 , 22081 Hamburg , Tel : 040-227 70 89
An Amusing Right-of-Way to Settling Scores
by Marinell Haegelin
When in his early 40s , John Patrick Shanley , the Pulitzer Prize and Oscar-winning playwright , accompanied his dad back to familial roots in Ireland ’ s rich , fertile Midlands outside the county seat of Mullingar . So impressed was he that , some 20 years later , Outside Mullingar was produced about four people in the selfsame setting , borrowing profusely from Irish kinsfolk . Delving into ancestral pride of and connection with the land , Shanley ’ s characters are contentious , provocative , and amusing . “ It ’ s a fusion of drama and ( black ) comedy with romance ,” summarizes the director .
The Reillys and Muldoons , longtime neighbors , are “ just after ” burying Christopher Muldoon when widower Tony Reilly thinks nothing of telling the newly widowed Aoife , invited for tea no less , that she ’ ll probably be dead within the year , now that Chris is gone . Anthony berates his dad , whereas Aoife gets back at Tony , inquiring whether he ’ s signed the farm over to Anthony yet . Anthony is stunned when Tony claims he ’ s not a land-loving Reilly , but more a Kelly on his mam ’ s side , particularly like the “ mad as a full moon ” grandfather , John , who didn ’ t love land . As Anthony leaves to find Rosemary , Aoife nonchalantly announces that Rosemary doesn ’ t like him . Perplexed and hurt , he departs . Continuing to chat candidly about their kids ’ oddities , Aoife elicits from Tony that he plans to sell the farm to an American nephew . Of course , there ’ s that Muldoon right-of-way through the Reilly land that Tony is hoping Aoife ’ ll sell back to him . Setting off a well-worn dispute , Tony is amazed to learn it ’ s Rosemary ’ s strip of land to sell . Meanwhile , Anthony finds Rosemary ; forever secretly in love with Anthony , she ’ s annoyed by his aloofness , enjoys needling him , and today ’ s touchy topic is ex-girlfriend
Fiona . Exasperatedly he replies , “ Is the human race against me this night ?” Hearing about what her mam told him , Rosemary parries , “ You ’ re a bit of a lump ,” but then he tells her what Tony said concerning his inheritance . He departs for the fields while Rosemary , knowing Anthony ’ s merits , goes indoors and boldly upbraids Tony for questioning Anthony ’ s birthright . Who in turn warns her that Anthony will never marry ; dogged , Rosemary resorts to emotional pressure . As seasons come and go , so too are torches eventually passed , and madness prevails : How mad ? “ You ’ ll find out . When it ’ s too late .”
Since first reading Outside Mullingar , after directing Doubt in 2008 , seasoned director Clifford Dean loved its melancholy , its promising optimism , its Irishness . Authenticity is essential , and Dean ’ s principal casting requirement was : be Irish . Breaking the seven-scene play into two acts —“ delayed
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