Stones In His Pockets – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

When a Hollywood studio arrives in the quiet, rural backwater of County Kerry in the west of Ireland to film their latest big budget drama ‘The Quiet Valley’, there is much excitement in the local community. Told through the eyes of Charlie (Gerard McCabe) and Jake (Shaun Blaney), this tale of thwarted ambition and lost opportunity veers starkly between farcical comedy and dark pathos without really convincing in either genre, despite the extremely strong performances from the gifted cast of two.

Written by Marie Jones in 1996, ‘Stones’ has come to be regarded as an iconic show in its native Ireland, winning acclaim for its tragicomic depiction of the differences between the cruel reality of Irish rural life and its idealisation in film and television. Charlie and Jake are initially both seen as stereotypical chancers, happy to take life as it comes, only gradually does the darkness start to seep through, following the suicide of local addict Sean, and their deeper disappointed narrative is revealed.

This production was originally mounted in 2021 to celebrate its 25th Anniversary and the author’s son Matthew McElhinney takes the helm as Director on this coproduction between the Octagon, Wiltshire Creative and The Everyman in Cheltenham. In their attempt to attract a modern audience to the piece, the creative team have added Audio Visual flourishes to the original minimalist set. However, with this Octagon staging the backdrop of projection onto a white screen with a monitor to the side looked distinctly amateurish, serving no discernible purpose for the majority of proceedings and acting as a distraction from the developing storyline onstage, only used effectively at the conclusion when comedically depicting a montage of famous Irish acting talent.

The confused juxtaposition of styles in the staging was matched by the scattergun tone of the piece, veering wildly between camp, comedic farce and serious exposition at the drop of a hat. Although some of this is inherent in the writing it was exacerbated by the direction, to the extent it often felt like two separate pieces were running concurrently on the same stage. Undoubtedly the audience enjoyed the well executed comedy but were less convinced in the darker moments, inappropriate nervous laughter in the bleaker scenes a sure sign the piece hadn’t found its mark.

Both McCabe and Blaney were superb, playing a total of 15 roles and depicting the entire Hollywood cast and crew as well as the local characters enlisted as extras on the movie. McCabe took the more eye catching comedic parts, his depiction of Caroline- the self absorbed leading actress – was masterful, utilising minimal props to create wholly believable comedic entities. Blaney was more understated and gave both Jake and Sean a vulnerable quality which was entrancing, especially in the flashback to Sean’s childhood, but would have been better served if the comedic moments hadn’t overwhelmed his subtle performance.

Similarly, in their depiction of Irishness they pointedly made the English audience confront some of their own racial stereotypes, but this understated message was rather lost in the avalanche of Riverdance reels, jigs, pipes and drums which brought the audience to its feet but in the process managed to compromise the integrity of the script. As a member of the Irish diaspora, I couldn’t help feeling this element was hackneyed and cliched, pandering to the perceived idea of what it means to be Irish. However, if it was a meta commentary, it was brilliant and anyway I was clearly in the minority as the Octagon audience lapped it up and gave the production a rousing standing ovation at the conclusion.

Playing until 2nd November, https://octagonbolton.co.uk/

Reviewer: Paul Wilcox

Reviewed: 23rd October 2024

North West End UK Rating: