Terminus
By Mark O’Rowe
Abbey Theatre
The Lowry, 25 March 2011
As the lady said, ‘Let it ride.’ All the way to the end of the line.
There are three monologues, at first individual and unconnected, though gradually they relate to each other, so that in the end they coalesce around the same extraordinary events.
What brings the play alive is Mark O’Rowe’s language, which is vital, earthy, scabrous, playful and musical both. Naturally, this would amount to nowt if the delivery and performances were wanting in some small way; here they were brilliant, spot on.
It is probably no coincidence that one of the characters mentioned in the play is named Celine: O’Rowe’s language has something of the same swaggering quality to be found in the great French writer’s works. And here too we journey to the end of the night.
Quite an extraordinary experience.
Jildy Sauce 