Under The Black Rock – Arcola Theatre

Coming up on 25 years since The Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland still has many issues to face and strongly entrenched divides within its community. Thankfully, it no longer sees the violence and terror of the troubles and when there is violence it is condemned by the majority, including leading figures from each side of the division.

Tim Edge’s Under The Black Rock looks back at a time when that violence and terror were a daily part of life in Northern Ireland. Set in Belfast, we meet the Ryan family and follow the main role of Niamh (Evanna Lynch, known for Harry Potter, is strong in this) who follows her father into the IRA. Many of the cast play dual roles, Flora Montgomery is excellent; first as a hard-worn senior IRA figure then slipping into the role of Sandra Ryan, desperate to protect her son from involvement in ‘the cause’ and willing to cross lines in unsuccessful efforts to keep him safe.

Other characters are more one-note, the hard men of the IRA, the wife who makes sandwiches, and the priest who is not sure where the line of his involvement goes. There isn’t a weak link in the cast but such one-note characters don’t always give much to do. It does allow for a contrast with Lynch and Montgomery being able to explore more depth and conflict within their characters. There are not many plays or stories on the Troubles which would focus so heavily on the female characters – and not just as supportive or grieving wives and mothers. Nor are there many that skip over any discussion of the politics but instead look at the damage done to – and by – one family.

The play jumps forward at the end to provide us with one final twist but this feels a little too much, a little jammed in at the end. Is the twist for the sake of a twist as it certainly calls some earlier motivations and actions into question? The multiple roles are handled mostly well by the cast and director Ben Kavanagh, with slight changes of costume indicating and letting the audience follow along but when occasional changes happen on stage with other things going on, a moment more to emphasise the different characters would be worth considering.

The set (designed by Ceci Calf) is simple with four chairs and a table moved around, from meeting room to church. The set is dominated, overshadowed by a large black rock hanging from the ceiling. All of the stories play out either under or in the shadow of this black rock coupled with smart lighting choices (Joseph Ed Thomas) to continuously remind us of its overshadow and at times internal lighting turn it red, shadows of blood. A torture scene, done with very low lighting is suggestively graphic, there is enough detail in the staging to cause eyes to turn away. Well presented and sold by Glen Wallace torturing Matthew Blaney with credit also due to fight director Dimitris Kafataris.

The performances, set and technical aspects all come together to make this an entertaining evening, an atmospheric thriller. As the news swirls with mention of Northern Ireland again, we can hope that it remains only for political squabbles or budget issues and that the Troubles are consigned to history and story.

Playing until 25th March, https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/under-the-black-rock/

Reviewer: Dave Smith

Reviewed: 8th March 2023

North West End UK Rating: ★★★