As You Are Now So Once Were We

Peacock Theatre, Dublin

In As You Are Now So Once WereWe, The Company finds drama in the act of making drama. The narrative of the 60-minute piece, in which the performers use their real names, charts their journey from their home to the theatre in search of inspiration.

Aided by an endlessly malleable set composed of cardboard boxes, the performers build and reconfigure an abstract version of Dublin.

But theirs is a philosophical as well as a geographical odyssey, as the performers vie for authorship of their experiences. For practical Nyree (Nyree Yergainharsian), the journey begins at home in Howth; for self-inflated Brian (Brian Bennett), it evolves as he crosses O'Connell Bridge; for forgetful Tanya (Tanya Wilson), it might have begun at Del Rio's café, if only she could remember what actually happened. But no matter whose version holds our attention, as Rob (Rob McDermott) tells us, the journey ends at the same place, at the present moment in which the audience find themselves watching The Company tell the story of the day that became the seed of their play.

The connection with James Joyce's Ulysses, touted so heavily in their publicity, may seem tenuous, but if it rests anywhere it is in The Company's experimentation with theatrical form; their attempt to draw attention to the key simultaneity of consciousness that defines the theatrical experience. It is a sophisticated idea executed by The Company and director José Miguel Jiminéz deserve credit for ensuring it remains grounded in physical movement, even if the philosophical inquiry is stretched a little thin in the closing moments.

Occasionally, the in-jokes and gestures towards Dublin's theatrical community push The Company towards ingratiation and precocity, but for the most part they rein in this impulse. As the four young performers stand to take their bows, they leave the audience with much to ponder.

Runs until February 5th