What do you get when you cross an American actor, an English director and an Irish playwright? You get chaos, a clashing of egos, fire and brimstone and 75 minutes of hilarious one-liners, insanity, insults and injury.
Playwright David Ireland’s first performance of his ULSTER AMERICAN was at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it went on to win several awards and had its London debut at ‘Riverside Studios’ in 2023.
Jeremy Waters’ Outhouse Theatre Company’produced the play at the Seymour Centre in Sydney in 2021 with the same cast as its current production at the Ensemble Theatre.
Hollywood actor Jay, (Jeremy Waters) brimming with enthusiasm, his beloved Oscar statue in hand, is visiting his English director, the cool and calm, beautifully spoken Leigh (Brian Meegan). They begin rehearsals tomorrow for their West End Northern Irish play.
Jay’s lack of PC – as a ‘self-proclaimed feminist’ – has him blurting out appalling opinions that reveal his bigotry, which he mistakes for empathy.
Leigh is horrified, but also complicit as he will need Jay’s US connections and does not wish to lose his leading man.
When Irish playwright, Ruth, (Harriet Gordon-Anderson) enters, flustered by her mother’s car accident, we become aware that she will not ignore Jay’s indiscretions.
At first she loves his enthusiasm and name-dropping, “I’ll introduce you to Quentin Tarantino”, until complications arise.
Jay sees his character as an Irish villain with an eye patch. Ruth has written him as a serious Belfast loyalist. She later claims to be English, not Irish.
The dialogue is fabulous, fast and funny. The three actors are well cast and have strong charisma. Their comedy timing is great.
Director Shane Anthony has kept the pace finely tuned and uses the intimate stage at the Ensemble to enhance the intensity of the play.
The set (shared with the tandem play, “Switzerland”) and lighting by Veronique Benett benefit the play. Costumes by Claudia Kryszkiewicz and sound by Mary Rapp are also effective.
ULSTER AMERICAN is stimulating, very funny and well worth seeing. It plays at the Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli, until the 8th of June, 2024.
Production photography by Prudence Upton
https://www.ensembletheatre.com.au
