You have no excuse for not knowing about this play. We told you about it already. Now you really need to go and buy a ticket for this absorbing, gripping piece of theatre which is at 3.45pm daily. It is hidden away down Brodies Close in one of C Venues little known haunts, C Cubed.

And when you get there you will be transported to Dublin and the life of a struggling actor, Vinny, with his conscience gnawing away at his side at all times, including the life-changing moment his girlfriend tells him she is expecting his baby. From his own experience impending fatherhood is not something he feels geared up for.

The four actors occupy the minimal set very well and are absolutely convincing in all the roles (many more than four!). The script is fast-paced and cutely crosses from Shakespeare to the modern day without notice. The intertwining dialogue between Vinny and his inner self explains brilliantly his turmoil, and is a credit to the playwright Mark McAuley who plays Vinny.

This company (like the characters in the play) are following their creative urges but are struggling to survive.

Some have left high Dublin rents behind for the UK in search of better paid work, and others have trained for extra jobs to bring in income alongside acting (such as yoga/filmmaking). 

Accompanying Mark McAuley on stage is Gary Buckley as INNER VINNY. His recent roles include TV series Vikings, feature film South and short Bad Choices. Lisa Tyrell’s (SASHA) theatre experience includes: The Kill God, Risk, Absolute Beginners; and films Four Kids and It (with Michael Caine)Urban Traffik and TV series Ripper Street. Completing the cast is Fiach Kunz (TOM/CARLITO/PADDY/BARMAN), whose theatre credits include Extremities (New Theatre) and King Lear (The Mill Theatre, Dundrum). Kunz also plays a supporting role in The Anderson Corporation Will Change Your Life, with TV work including Game of ThronesInto The Badlands and Resistance

Kunz may have played multiple supporting roles here but gave exceptional performances in each.

In
 2019, in support of Irish artists, over 300 actors, directors, designers and playwrights staged their own rebellion, at the Abbey Theatre’s practice of co-producing shows and the damaging effects of this decision on the domestic theatre industry. A Fear And Loathing Actor In Dublin highlights that despite artists promoting ‘Brand Ireland’, they are not often not paid fairly. Arts and culture need to be protected. Artists need to be protected. Without them, we would be devoid of Netflix, Spotify or books to read…..a life more ordinary.

PHOTO Martin P McAdam
Website | + posts

Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.