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Rarely performed “Is Life Worth Living?” by Lennox Robinson is The Adobe Theater’s contribution to the Southwest Irish Theatre Festival. First performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in 1933, the play is cleverly (though sometimes mechanically) constructed. Director Brian Hansen’s cast of thirteen is consistently strong.
In the small, seaside town of Inish, John Twohig owns both the local hotel and theater. He decides to replace the vulgar comedies of the previous theatrical company-in-residence with a sophisticated and highbrow company performing serious drama of social import – the De La Mare Repertory Company – for the summer season. That troupe is led by Hector De La Mare and his wife, Constance Constantia, guests at the hotel. They confine their productions to “psychological and introspective drama,” aiming to revolutionize the audience members’ souls with the dark and disturbing plays of Chekov, Ibsen and Strindberg.
There is intrigue and romance in the hotel as well. John’s spinster sister Lizzie runs the establishment with the help of servants Helena and Michael. John’s wife, Annie, is obsessed with fashions from Dublin and overspends on clothes. His son Eddie is hopelessly in love with Christine Lambert, who visits Inish only twice a year. Eddie carries a ring to slip on her finger should she ever accept his ardent proposals.
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If you go WHAT: “Is Life Worth Living?” by Lennox Robinson WHEN: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through April 15 WHERE: The Adobe Theater, 9813 Fourth NW HOW MUCH: $15 (2 for $20). Call 898-9222 for ticket information. |
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Townsfolk flock to the theater to see the socially significant dramas, but soon the inhabitants of the normally placid village are acting out in response to the morbid plays. Suicide is attempted; murder is contemplated; old wounds are opened; and suspicion is rampant. Director Hansen wisely provides inside the show’s program a bill of fare summarizing five De La Mare Company plays. This allows the audience to recognize the parallels between the play plots and the unhealthy activities in Inish.
Philip J. Shortell is excellent as John Twohig whose good intentions go astray. Heather Lovick-Tolley is equally fine as his wife, Annie. Her eyes convey her emotions. I thoroughly enjoyed both.
There are two pairs of lovers. Eddie and Christine are played by Isaac Christie and Jennifer M. Lloyd-Cary. They perform well, though their characters’ union at play’s end seems contrived. Below stairs, Helena and Michael (Ari Echt-Wilson and Mathew Van Wethering) make a most attractive couple.
Playwright Robinson called his play “an exaggeration,” and many of the actors take that description to heart. Linda Williams as Lizzie grows more melodramatic as the play progresses. Lizzie luxuriates in her unrequited love for Peter, played with vacuous delight by James Cady.
Joni L. Lloyd and Ned Record are wonderful as the overwrought thespians, constantly posturing and emoting. They have as much fun as we in the audience do.
— This article appeared on page F3 of the Albuquerque Journal
