Wife to James Whelan at New Diorama Theatre is funny, moving and surprisingly fresh.
I've tried listing all the things Wife to James Whelan is about, and it goes on for a while. This is a very rich play by Irish writer Teresa Deevy. Her script looks at decision making, consequences, regrets, friendship, love and ambition, to mention a few. Amazingly, she manages to present all of these with substance through a collection of funny, ambitious, hopeful characters. In Gavin McAlinden's production for Charm Offensive theatre company, these themes jump out at the audience, pulling at heartstrings the whole time.
A lot of its success is down to excellent casting, a heavy dose of humour and the structure Deevy lays out. Written in 1937, Wife to James Whelan introduces us to James through the friends that clearly admire him. They're all growing up, taking new jobs and embracing the changes that are supposed to improve their lives. James is offered a position in Dublin and plans to return home a businessman with hopes of increasing employment and wages in the area. To get to where he wants to be he leaves his girlfriend Nan who refuses to wait for him. By the time he returns seven years later, Nan is a mother and a widow. His old, ineligible friend Kate is still around and so is the rich and pretty Nora Keene.
It touches on the way the upwardly mobile are perceived, the abuse of power, the significance of status and the importance of saving face. But more obviously, it's packed with gender issue, which McAlinden's production characterises through a great cast. Mark Hesketh as James provides a strong centre and explains through either charming or surly behaviour how this small town Irishman desperately seeks fulfilment. He has a very male ego to contend with and all the expectations of his community. The women on the other hand are defined mostly by their marital status. Siobhán McSweeney technically has a supporting role as Kate, but she's up there with the leads, embodying Kate's big personality, her disappointment at being unmarried, her unwavering friendship and her caring nature. Nan is destitute, as there aren't any provisions for widows, and James' insensitivity and lack of understanding about her predicament is horrible to watch.
There are some bland but essential aspects to the play; the villain – in the form of a rival businessman and ex-boyfriend of Nan's – is a little predictable, and it's disappointing that James' worth is eventually proven through his use of brute force rather than some of his kinder aspects. But essentially this is a sweet play that's both funny and moving. It manages to be something that few plays of its genre can be: a fresh historical drama.
Wife to James Whelan runs at New Diorama Theatre until 30th April with a series of special events. See the New Ddiroama website for details.
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