Cortisol
Black Box, Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin
★★★☆☆
“You have to jump if you want to play the game,” says Izzy. Or is it Sam?
Megan and Shannon Haly, who are sisters, come together to bring this technically ambitious coming-of-age rollercoaster ride to the stage, zooming in and out of memories from childhood to adulthood at a dizzying pace.
In their theatrical-writing debut, the pair delve into the whirlwind of emotions that come with growing up, drawing on moments of grief, queer love, loneliness and heartbreak as they follow the lives of childhood best friends Sam and Izzy from the ages of eight to 28. In the space of 55 minutes Cortisol manages to touch on just about every imaginable defining feeling confronted by Ireland’s twentysomethings.
With witty writing and strong delivery, these friends hopscotch through space and time, embodying a Communion-dress-wearing eight-year-old one minute and a young woman in a therapist’s office in Berlin the next. Cortisol explores the complexity of female friendship; we witness Sam and Izzy’s lives play out in drastically different ways and their bond be strained by periods of emotional and physical distance. Throughout the busy narrative some very real depictions of queer self-acceptance and anxiety peek through.
At times the lines become blurred between which Haly is playing Sam and which Izzy, something that is further muddled by the fact that the Halys look strikingly similar. There are other characters in the mix to keep track of as well, such as Sam’s girlfriend and grandmother.
You might say that any confusion stemming from this choice gives a nod to the show’s overarching theme, spiking the audience’s stress hormones as they watch Sam spiralling further and further out of control.
Cortisol culminates in a touching revelation as Sam discovers the key to moving forward might just be reconnecting with her inner child: a courageous hop, skip and jump hand in hand with her younger self and the game has finally been played.
Continues at Smock Alley Theatre, as part of Dublin Fringe Festival, until Saturday, September 21st
