Port Authority

Everyman Theatre, Hope Street
25 February - 19 March at 19.45pm

Reviewed by Colin Serjent

Three men - young (Matthew Dunphy), mddle-aged (Ruairi Conaghan) and elderly (Ciaran McIntyre) - sit on chairs almost throughout the entire play talking about their own lives and the way it has treated them. They never speak to one another or acknowledge the existence of the other two characters who share the stage.

Apart from the chairs , the only other props are three film screens behind them which portray their head and shoulders. I am not sure whether this adds or detracts from the production, although I suppose it gave the audience something else to look at rather than constantly staring at three individuals sitting down.

Set in Dublin, with many geographical locations from the city regularly mentioned, Conor McPherson's play,"Port Authority', directed by Matthew Dunster, left me bored. I felt no empathy with any of the three men with their humdrum and shallow lives and humdrum monologues.

My attention while watching the play sometimes strayed elsewhere, because it was like listening to a bloke on a bus bitching about how cruel life can be, or how he could have achieved more from life if only.....

The play meanders along throughout with little dramatic llight or shade, apart from the occasional burst of loud music. Although the three men spoke at length about themselves, ultimately they had little to say!