A Skull in Connemara, currently showing at Centerstage, is different from the usual fun-loving musical or romantic drama that one usually associates with theater. A dark comedy, its humor is often morbid, and the audience questions whether or not it was ethical to laugh.
Written by Martin McDonagh, A Skull in Connemara tells the story of a man named Mick, played by Si Orborne, whose profession involves digging up old graves in order to make space for new ones. If the subject matter itself isn't morbid enough, the play itself revolves around Mick's having to dig up not just any old dead body but his late wife's. With every movement of his shovel into the dirt, Mick finds himself inevitably digging further into the past he has been avoiding for so long. Rumors comes alive regarding her death and mysteries unfolded. . .
Mick's personality is predictable throughout the play, although his emotions are dynamic, ranging from intense anger to crying on stage. His nonchalant tone in serious or comical situations make for a very likeable character. The driving force of this play is probably the sense of humor and the characters that one can easily relate to.
Everyone has a Martin, played by Jordan Brown, in their lives: essentially, a young and reckless boy who is oblivious, continually taken advantage of and bullied by those around him for his naivety. He kept the mood of the play lighthearted, even in times of seriousness. The audience wasn't sure whether to be irritated by Martin or amused by him, and in the end it was a little bit of both.
Martin's brother, Thomas, played by Richard Thieriot, is a police officer, in charge of overseeing the excavation of the remains of Mick's dead wife, Una. He isn't just any ordinary police officer, but the stereotypical bumbling idiot who views himself in a kinder light than anyone else around him, considering himself some kind of genius detective and overanalyzing the most meaningless of situations.
The three final characters were Maryjohnny, Martin and Thomas's grandmother, played by Barbara Kingsley. Her drunken, self righteous comments open up the play and contribute to the audience's understanding of the setting.
The story takes place in a small town in Ireland. Although the thick Irish accents were difficult to decipher at first, one was able to comprehend the dialogue more comfortably by the second act of the play and effortlessly by the end of it. The dialogue itself is realistic in that it was quick and witty, as opposed to dramatic or over the top, with jokes often dispersed throughout; keeping up with them keeps the audience listening carefully. The set created a wonderfully spooky atmosphere, with light creeping in from in between wooden panels in the background and antique looking furniture.
There was one aspect of the set that separated it from any other play and was unique to A Skull in Connemara. Two of the actual graves were underneath the stage, and half of a character's body could disappear underneath the stage if he stepped inside, creating an incredibly realistic image of being underground.
The dirt being flung about seemed to be real and was tossed with such finesse that not one grain landed on the audience, the first row of whom were quite close to the small stage. The highlight of the play might have been a short spooky scene in which Mick and Martin are smashing skulls with hammers to the sound of classical music playing in the background; bits of bone and skull flew with each smash of a hammer and made the audience jump with shock and surprise at the noise.
The range of emotions the audience felt throughout the play was very wide. The audience laughed in unison and then minutes later held their breath due to the tension caused by the scene taking place.
The audience itself consisted entirely of elderly folk, but that in no way means that A Skull in Connemara is not a play for college students to enjoy. It was a nice change from going to the movies in that there was no barrier between the audience and the story and the distance between the two was almost nonexistent, creating a much more interactive experience.
