Irish playwright Conor McPherson tells wonderful ghost stories. His “Shining City” at Quotidian Theatre is no exception. On the surface, it’s the story of a man, John (Steve Beall), whose wife has died. But he keeps seeing her so clearly that he has to leave his house and move to a bed and breakfast. He seeks out the help of a therapist, Ian (John Decker), who is moving into an office in Dublin. John is his first client. But it turns out that Ian has problems of his own: he has left his girlfriend, Neasa (Laura Russell) and their baby, telling Neasa bluntly, “I don’t want this relationship” without being able to tell her why.
Yet beneath the surface narrative of doctor/patient and girlfriend/boyfriend relationships is a deeper story of how the individuals in “Shining City” relate to themselves, how they misrepresent their lives to other people, how they fabricate lies to keep themselves afloat amid vast oceans of guilt. Quotidian illuminates that murkier region very well.
| Onstage |
| ‘Shining City’ |
| Where: Quotidian Theatre, the Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda |
| When: Through Dec. 11 |
| Info: $20 to $25; 301-816-1023; [email protected] |
The main scenes in “Shining City” are between John and Ian and require John to peel back layers of memories to get to the truth about his past. Beall is excellent as the emotional, forthcoming 50-four-year-old John, whose first meeting with Ian reveals only that he misses his wife. It is not until a later meeting that John admits he was involved with a married woman even while his wife was alive. Later, he admits being physically brutal to his wife after visiting a brothel.
Director Jack Sbarbori emphasizes the differences between therapist and client. Where John is open and honest, Ian is quiet, secretive and tentative. Although a lot of that is written into the script, Decker portrays Ian as supremely buttoned-down, supercontrolled, even at one of the most passionate moments of the play, when he recalls how important Neasa once was to him. A little strategic fire would make the character more interesting and more human.
Russell is superb as Neasa, a marvelous character who is too sophisticated to confuse romance and love but too trusting to see Ian’s inability to commit to her. Michael Avolio is supremely menacing as Laurence, a man who enters Ian’s life late in the play.
“Shining City” is a subtle, poignant play that explores loneliness and the transitory nature of modern existence. Quotidian captures that subtlety and poignancy simply, without apparent artifice.
