Review: Living Quarters, Factory Theatre

The links between Brian Friel’s Living Quarters and the Greek tragedy Phaedra are reasonably obvious. Less easy to convey is the play’s unique mix of tension, tragedy and comedy, wonderfully conveyed here in this co-production by Tobacco Factory Theatres and Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory.

Simon Armstrong plays the innocent protagonist – Commandant Frank Butler, a UN military official returning home to his small home on the outskirts of Ballybeg, County Donegal.

Butler returns to a hero’s welcome following his actions in the Middle East – but his celebrations are ruined after a harrowing discovery involving his own son (Craig Fuller). The action throughout is narrated, and indeed manipulated, by a dark anonymous figure known only as Sir.

Describing himself as “the powerful and impartial referee, the final adjudicator”, this calm, collected judge of events is brilliantly conveyed by Chris Bianchi. Balancing the play’s developing tragedy and his character’s own abrupt humour is a difficult task, but one that Bianchi manages superbly. The protagonists’ interactions with Sir result only in tensions peaking further – both between characters and with this all-seeing judge, whose role resembles that of an unsettling prison officer.

Refusing to allow the characters to act out the story as they wish, Sir exacerbates the tensions latent in the various relationships, drawing frustration and anger from the protagonists.

Under Andrew Hilton’s direction, the context around this one earth-shattering event comes through clearly too. There’s chaos and disorder to be enjoyed with Butler’s daughter Miriam, portrayed by Hayley Doherty as an overly loud, brash mother, and from Joe Hall’s mumbling Father Tom – whose drunkenness and clumsiness turn from slapstick to tragedy as he finds himself unable to console the troubled Commandant.

The lighting works well with the characters, reflecting their emotions. The uncluttered, brown 1970s-household set can in an instant be enclosed in dimmed tungsten yellow or a sombre violet as the story rolls towards its inevitable end – before reverting to bright white to reflect the harsh glare of Sir’s inquisitions.

Director and cast present this modern myth with astonishing realism. From the teak wood coffee table to Armstrong’s telling facial expressions and Fuller’s sharp, exasperated movements, it’s the attention to detail that makes this production so evocative.

Living Quarters’ key ideas – how a solitary act can tear apart a community, how we present a version of events to our best advantage – are here presented with all of the clarity that Friel intended.

Living Quarters continues at the Factory Theatre until Saturday, October 3. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/detail/living_quarters