Seamus Heaney, commenting on Sean O'Casey's skill as a playwright, praised his "ability to go over the top to get to the bottom of the matter". This Arches Theatre Company production is at its strongest when it goes over the top. The shenanigans of Jack Boyle and his friend Joxer Daley; a scene change done with traditional Irish dancing; the antics of buxom lush Maisie Madigan: each of these elements is superbly effervescent.
Where the production is weaker is in its tracing of the darker aspects of Dublin tenement life in the 1920s. The set fails to convey the claustrophobia of the place; the interior is simply too bright, while the world beyond the Boyles' front door never feels real, or like it might teem into the place.
Despite good performances from the play's tragic figures (Muireann Kelly as Mary Boyle and Alison Peebles as Juno), the heartbreak at the end of the tale is muted. You rarely feel, as Boyle keeps saying, that the world is in "a state of chassis". Wandering accents and some weak acting at key moments don't help. As the misery unfolds, Aonghus Weber's Johnny says, "Oh, isn't this terrible?" Trouble is, it doesn't feel terrible.
This is not to say the production lacks charm, and the way O'Casey captures the language of working-class Dublin remains a treat. "We was in many a tight corner together," Boyle says of Joxer. "Aye, in Foley's snug," Juno snaps back. When the two men temporarily fall out, Boyle thinks up the toughest sanction he can: "He'll never blow the froth off a pint of mine again." This production won't blow the froth off your pint, but it does have moments that are enjoyably refreshing.
Until September 29. Box office: 0141-429 0022.
