Mieke O’Brien reviews UCD Drama Society’s production of Marina Carr’s The Cordelia Dream.
“I remember long ago, when I loved you”. A father exposes a painful recollection of his relationship with his daughter in The Cordelia Dream, a Marina Carr play directed by Cathal Sheerin. The audience is invited to witness how both father and daughter struggle to forgive and let live, as they together fight the ancient and eternal battle between life and death. Yet, in The Cordelia Dream, neither father nor daughter appear capable of escaping from the nightmare they have created, and the apparent impossibility of their dream of reconciliation makes its disastrous consequences seem inevitable.
The simple stage setting of The Cordelia Dream effectively demonstrates that the depicted dispute is one fuelled by a sordid jealousy, at the core of which stands the piano, since father and daughter compete to compose the most artistically valuable musical pieces. Pervading from this chosen battleground is an eerie atmosphere, not least because the stage space is suffused with smoke. Also directly stimulating the audience’s senses is the displayed film footage created by Rosa Torr and Ailish Toal, since the vivid visual projections supplement the force and velocity with which father and daughter articulate their accusations.
The sound and light design created by Matt Jones, in association with Caoimhe Higgins and Leanna Bergin, effectively depicts how father and daughter dwell between their individual, inward and an vocalised, outward confrontation with their past. Harsh lighting oftentimes intrudes upon the ominous darkness, and this discordance is strengthened by loud and inexplicable sounds. Furthermore, by utilising unexpected and subtle piano notes to create a sinister atmosphere, the audience is encouraged to believe that the imminent threat is also a fiction of their own imagination.
Pervading from this chosen battleground is an eerie atmosphere, not least because the stage space is suffused with smoke.
In The Cordelia Dream, those who articulate the poignant accusations and forceful speech of Marina Carr’s dialogue are the female lead, Aisling Byrne, and male lead, Rory Crean. Both leading actors successfully convey the sentiments expressed by their characters, yet perhaps, at different instances, the dialogue could have benefited from a more notable increase or stagnation of tempo, so that the audience would have been granted the opportunity to accurately interpret and reflect upon the sentiments expressed.
Still, female lead Aisling Byrne excellently integrates vulnerability, and expresses this excellently. She allows her character to develop from a subordinate position, protesting to her father, “you want me alive but silent”, who ultimately asserts her dominance by demanding utter silence. Rory Crean’s depiction of an elderly man is aided by the physical transformation facilitated by Ailish Toal and Emma McTague, yet it is Crean’s physical representation of the weariness of age which makes his depiction of an old pianist highly believable – also made successful by Crean’s equally impressive command of playing the piano. Together, Byrne and Crean deliver an outstanding performance.
Together, Byrne and Crean deliver an outstanding performance.
This production of The Cordelia Dream, also made possible by producer Ryan Gillespie and production manager Megan Fennelley, demonstrates that it is possible to successfully address the challenges inherent in Marina Carr’s play. By alternating between excessively vigorous dialogue and a more intimate display of the characters’ confessions of their inner thoughts and sentiments, The Cordelia Dream produced by UCD Dramsoc is carefully balanced; yet subtle and eerie in equal measure.
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