Synge Marathon

A breathtaking review of Garry Hynes’ Synge marathon going on in Ireland right now. Actually, it’s over – they did the marathon all this summer, now it’s at the Edinburgh Festival – and I am just crossing my fingers hopefully, prayerfully, that eventually the marathon comes to New York. Listen to that review. It gave me chills. It’s marvelously written, so even if you have no interest in JM Synge, or theatre, it’s well worth a read. I feel like I must see these plays, as directed by Ms. Hynes.

The project is almost a life’s labor for Ms. Hynes, who in 1998 became the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing Mr. McDonagh’s “Beauty Queen of Leenane.” It is also, in part, an act of restoration. John Millington Synge had a deep if complicated affection for his culture, but the love went largely unrequited during his lifetime. His first plays, which are now considered key works of Irish literature, were greeted with an outraged snarl by The Irish Times at their debuts in the early years of the 20th century.

“Excessively distasteful” was the verdict on “The Shadow of the Glen.” “Riders to the Sea” was deemed “repulsive.” And the riots that greeted the premiere of “The Playboy of the Western World” in 1907 have entered the annals of both Irish history and theatrical lore.

I wrote a huge piece on “The Playboy Riots”. It’s an incredible story – and one of the main theatrical events in history that I so wish I had been a witness to.

And here, in the review, is where I got goosebumps – and suddenly considered flying to Edinburgh TODAY to try to see the Synge cycle – Listen:

The connections are further emphasized by the use of the same basic set, by Francis O’Connor (a dirt floor, looming gray walls mottled by age) and Davy Cunningham’s intricate but simple lighting, and by the casting of key actors in leading roles in more than one play. Most rewardingly, Marie Mullen, who starred in Mr. McDonagh’s “Beauty Queen” on Broadway, appears in no less than five significant roles, embodying an astonishing range of Synge’s powerfully drawn female characters, defining each with indelible artistry, humor and compassion. Even if it is never seen in the English-speaking theatrical capitals of London and New York – as it should be – Ms. Mullen’s achievement may well come to rank among the legendary acting accomplishments of the era. She is a great actress, delivering an astonishing series of performances here.

Good God. I don’t even HAVE to see it to get that something amazing is going on over there, but damn – I sure would LIKE to see it.

The review ends:

Different in style if not in spirit from Synge’s previous work, “Deirdre” is written in a staid, imagistic and almost incantatory language that defies naturalistic interpretation. Its mythic figures are, like all Synge’s characters, vividly human in their conflicted desires, but the actors are adrift in these strange waters, and Ms. Hynes herself resorts to some unfortunate stylistic experiments.

And yet theatrically ineffective as it is, “Deirdre of the Sorrows,” in which the dying Synge wrote movingly, even passionately, about the consolations of a life cut short before time can dampen the fires of a young heart, brings the cycle to an aptly mournful conclusion. The fact that Ms. Hynes’ and her collaborators’ great success contains an element of failure does not detract from the significance of their achievement – there is even something aptly Syngean in the cycle concluding not with a bravura bang but with quiet letdown.

A flawless presentation of his oeuvre would betray the harsh beauty of his vision. For Synge, loss was as constant and inevitable as the sea and stars. It’s the shadow of death moving stealthily toward us that puts the savor in the sip of whiskey, the tall tale or the tender communion of a long hoped-for kiss.

Synge has always been dear to my heart, even though I don’t think I fully understand him, and have read his plays many many times, in an attempt to get closer to what he was trying to say. He was a very very important playwright – not just for Ireland – but for the world.

Damn. I so so wish I could transport myself across the ocean, free of charge, to see these plays in person.

Please let them come to New York!!! I’ll get in line for tickets right now!