Sexist graffiti on a suburban wall provokes blazing confrontation in Lisa Tierney-Keogh’s new play, portraying six characters in search of consensus. As neighbours gather in a tranquil Dublin suburb, the scene looks set for a social comedy. But their tense host, Liz (Ruth Bradley), would prefer to get down to business, with an emergency meeting of the residents’ association.
When the group attempt to respond to the graffiti, which has labelled a local girl as a “slut”, polarised positions emerge on the subject of gender. This is perfectly orchestrated as the characters represent an all too neat cross-section of society, including a middle-aged woman who doesn’t want foreigners moving into the area, a conservative father, a pressured black hospital doctor, a married lesbian and an underemployed screenwriter.
Liz wants to initiate a dialogue about misogyny with whoever sprayed the wall, but the men are resistant and think she’s taking it far too seriously. For the cynical Paul, feminism is the problem, preventing men from being able to speak freely. Aidan McArdle compellingly goes beyond stereotype as a once-successful man who feels undermined by his female boss and is now sliding into debt.
Discussions about power and prejudice rapidly descend into personal insults, like a dramatised Twitter storm. While the director, David Horan, keeps the excellent ensemble moving and the pace feeling tight, the aggression unleashed becomes an end in itself, leaving the person with the most righteous anger having the last word.
At the Abbey, Dublin, until 14 September.
