Sandpaper on Sunburn
Smock Alley, Dublin
★★★☆☆
Freya has always been different. Difficult, some might say. Growing up, she found it hard to mesh with the other kids at school, had obsessive interests and felt a drive that her ex-girlfriend Sonya envies. Oh, and physical touch can feel like sandpaper on sunburn.
David Horan’s new family drama doesn’t skirt around the topic of autism: it dives in head first. Set in 2018, after months of campaigning for the referendum to repeal the abortion ban, plus a messy break-up, Freya (Éilish McLaughlin) is burned out and has moved back home to live with her family.
Tensions are high in the Pattison household, as Freya’s four-year-old nephew, Jack, is not the only one having meltdowns, and her parents, although well-meaning, are not on board with the idea that there might be something different about their youngest daughter.
The first act takes a while to warm up, but with the arrival on stage of Freya’s brutally honest mother, Colette (Amelia Crowley), and no-nonsense sister, Helen (Clare Monnelly), a spark ignites and the relationship dynamics begin to take on new energy, prompting some laugh-out-loud moments.
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We quickly learn that Sonya (Honi Cooke) and Freya’s ginger cat, reverently named Mary Robinson and now a child of divorce, has gone missing. An ever-hopeful Sonya shows up to the family home, where she’s assaulted by 20 questions from Freya’s parents and a stodgy birthday cake. Sonya has come with an apparent lead on the wild cat chase. Motivated by the revelation that Freya’s neurodiversity may have been the cause of their differences all along, the pair decide to rekindle their romance.
When the lights go up for the second act we find ourselves in Sonya’s apartment. Freya, frustrated by her parents’ lack of understanding, is hiding out and refusing to answer their calls while she tries to learn more about the neurodivergent community and seek her own diagnosis.
With his head hanging, dad Tony (Anthony Brophy) comes over to try to make amends. In an attempt to make sense of her past, Freya accuses him of something unthinkable – a thread of the story that feels somewhat disjointed as it plays out.
As if things can’t get any worse, Colette sends a hurtful voice note, reminiscent of Marion’s remark to her daughter in Greta Gerwig’s film Lady Bird, in which she tells Freya that she loves but does not like her. We’re left wondering if these relationships can ever truly be repaired.
Back to Mary Robinson. The cat becomes a recurring motif and vehicle for exploring Freya and Sonya’s incompatibility. This plotline culminates in a twist that seems to be the last straw for Sonya in what makes for a slightly bewildering final scene.
Despite a few tangents and off-kilter moments (what’s the random dance break about?) Sandpaper on Sunburn is a compelling and thoughtful examination of what it means to be neurodivergent in a world designed for the neurotypical.
Continues at Smock Alley, as part of Dublin Theatre Festival, until Saturday, October 5th
