By Jennifer Beasley.
A compelling tale of inevitability binds five friends as an 800-year-old conflict during Northern Ireland’s unsettling conflict draws to an end – with tragic results.
Produced by Ben Walter of Patalog Theatre Co. and Cameron Lukey of 45DS present the debut 95-minute play held at FortyFiveDownStairs (45DS) by Sydneysider Grace Chapple.
It’s amazing what draws us to write.
Is it the need to understand familial patterns or to seek answers to unresolved internal conflict?
Chapple has written a cracking script set on her ancestral homelands, where her mother grew up not far from the checkpoint boarder in occupied Northern Ireland during ‘The Troubles’ in 1987.
For those that don’t know, Protestant England held control of Catholic Ireland which culminated in a thirty-year conflict named ‘The Troubles’. A treaty was signed in 1998 ending thirty years of sectarian violence.
This play opens onto an amazing set. The audience are seated on three sides of a house corner, large windows initially covered by gauze curtains pulled away in scene two, with a hallway glimpsed through the misty netting at the rear.
I’m going to forecast that the set designers Dann Barber and Ella Butler are going onto BIG THINGS! What an amazing way to capture the interior dialogue of unspoken tensions. We, the audience, are voyeurs, peeking back through time as we observe this tiny five some, house rattling as the bombs of the British echo under the skilful sound smith of Rachel Lewinson.
It’s 1987. Celebrating Christmas Eve at Deirdre’s home with a ghost story and references to Banshees and acted with fierce passion by Enya Daly (That Was Friday), her four friends sing up a storm.
Unpredictable Connor, a loose cannon with a short fuse whose mouth runs with disrespect with the intimate private life of his girlfriend, is played by Damon Baudin (Smokescreen). A difficult role to act, he’s the volatile one, tolerated by the others.
Girlfriend Niamh, insecure, yet desperate for another life, gives Ella Ferris (who was amazing in Sunshine Super girl) plenty of scope to strut her considerable talents.
Loud and drink heavy Mary, always an outlier, allows Molly Holohon (Recollection) to plant herself as a considerable talent. I swear she was one of the Irish girls who’d drink us under the table at the Espy, that’s how convincing she is. Rounding up this friendship group is guitar player and singer Jimmy, emotionally acted by Ben Walter (Westgate), whose character portrays a quiet stoicism, a young man who grows to be a good man. He reminds me of Eric Bana quite a bit in both looks and acting.
A radio montage fast forwards time by ten years, although it took me a while to recognise this.
With the themes stamped of the inevitability of one’s true nature and death, the tension takes a notch up when, another Christmas Eve, and Niamh returns home. For the first time in a decade, no less, engaged to an English barrister, uptight Protestant Harry, acted to perfection by Karl Richmond (The Almighty Sometimes) who once again proves to me that he can inhabit any role he chooses.
The fuse is lit.
Lesser themes bloom on love, longing and religious differences. Deidre’s grudge holding has deepened, her own nature as destructive as her friends as the background bombs crumble the lives around them.
Beautiful tight direction by Marni Mount keeps this work vibrant and alive. Each scene makes you feel you are there, living this life that has trapped these five in a loop of stagnation. Yet Niamh has managed to get out. Or has she?
Muted lighting and golden glows from lamps give a nostalgic feel. Sam Martin does not overdo things here.
It is the ending that I struggle with. Chapple herself said that she rewrote the ending ten times. Well, it shows. It is disjointed, and does not carry the themes to their conclusion, instead opting for a rosy glow when this is tragedy. Irish tragedy, moreover, where the drink and fists fly and the fear of mammy runs riot. Greats of the Irish theatre Teresa Deevy and John B. Keane knew the power of cultural identity and historical oppression. However, this is still an astounding play, and I believe leeway for a debut is more than allowable. Grace Chapple has a shining future ahead of her.
However, the marvellous actors are a tight unit, with such believable accents that my companion was surprised to find out they are not Irish! Well done on these accurate dialects Anna McCrossin-Owen it’s always a strong compliment when you hear comments like this.
With such a great cast I could not choose a standout, mainly due to the actor’s own believability as a group, although Molly Holohan and Enya Daly sizzle, the quiet power of Ben Walter and Karl Richmond balance them out, while Damon Baudin’s pain cuts deep into the arms of the ethereal Ella Ferris.
I leave the play wondering, has Chapple found the answers she seeks, or will they always be out of reach, never closer than those precious moments on stage.
Decide for yourself but most of this show is already sold out so hurry!
Never Closer is playing at FortyFiveDownStairs until 24th May 2026.
Image: Cameron Grant Parenthesy
