Good With Faces
Project Arts Centre, Dublin 2
★★★★☆
A plush green chair sits stage left, its opulence spoiled by a coat strewn across its back and a child’s clutter brushed out of the way beneath it.
Appearances can be deceiving in Oisín Kearney’s new two-hander, which explores power dynamics, evasive tactics and questions of morality over 80 gripping minutes. Good With Faces stars Vicky Allen and Patrick McBrearty as a mother and social-care worker locked in an oscillating interrogation.
Kearney’s dialogue is sharp, punctuating the show’s dark overtones with incongruous punchlines. At times the audience even cackles in moments that don’t seem to warrant it. This is partly a natural response to the tension and partly driven by the skilful execution of a clumsy, almost conspiratorial rapport between our dual protagonists.
Liam Hegarty (McBrearty) is paying Anne Garrick (Allen) a house visit, looking to clear up some details around an injury sustained by her five-year-old son. Garrick is bright-eyed and eager to impress, but she raises alarm with throwaway comments long before the conversation becomes challenging.
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Both she and Hegarty are capricious, unwillingly showing more of themselves to each other as the play goes on. The swapping of the spotlight is a smooth vehicle for revelation, and the plot is full of punchy twists. It can be difficult to stick the landing in games of rising stakes, but Kearney’s grip on the narrative stays firm through to its climax.
Beyond the thrills, there is substance to Good With Faces. The looming threat of accountability hangs over Garrick and Hegarty as they debate the extent to which external pressures can rationalise behaviour. Their contrasting backgrounds inform a sort of anti-chemistry, though attempts to delve deeper into class and hierarchy could be considered heavy-handed. Overall, this is a slick production that makes great use of the instruments at its disposal.
Good With Face continues at Project Arts Centre, as part of Dublin Fringe Festival, until Saturday, September 13th
