Appropriate, Dublin Fringe Festival 2018, Bewley’s Cafe Theatre – Dublin
Writer: Sarah-Jane Scott
Director: Paul Meade
‘Planning a wedding in Ireland is like preparing for war.’
Scott enters from a door to the left. Climbing onto the stage she drops her wedding bouquet on an empty chair in the middle of the stage. A white carpet is underneath; otherwise, the stage is bare. The focus stays on Scott for the entirety of the play.
Sarah-Jane Scott plays Sorcha. At first, she looks like a runaway bride. It soon emerges that she has slipped out of her own wedding reception and seems to be taking stock of her life; considering who she is and what she wants for the very first time. Her life to this point has always gone as it should. It has been perfectly appropriate. She has just married the man she already wanted, a former county hurling player who has always been kind to her. Surrounded by her mum and friends this should be the best day of her life. Sure, isn’t that what she has always planned. But if it is, why does she feel like hiding away?
Appropriate taxes the audience from Sorcha’s debs, where she saw off the competition in an entirely unorthodox manner to nab her man to the day they said ‘I do’. The journey is frequently hilarious, with Sorcha’s strong accent and turn of phrase bringing the audience out of their seat. Appropriate is the ideal play for a short break from the frequent difficulty of day-to-day life. The character of Sorcha is fully rounded. She sounds like a friend of a friend that you went to school with and fills her friends and acquaintances with Facebook envy, with her well-ordered life. She is a GAA girlfriend with a husband – to – be who is well respected in their rural community and a best friend who would tear strips off anyone who upset her.
Scott embodies the character and this play is clearly her creation as she takes control from beginning to end and makes the stage, and the audience, her own. With the rest of her life stretching out like railway tracks Sorcha has to make a decision. Will she choose the comfortable life that she has established for herself; being the queen bee of her small town, or will she take the road less travelled, and try to find a different her in the expanding future?
Appropriate has come out of Fishamble’s A Show in a Bagscheme that has created some wonderful productions over the years. This show is another example of how this programme and the nurturing environment of the Fringe Festival can bring talent to the fore.
| Image: Contributed
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