Review: Matthew Broderick in Irish Rep's SHINING CITY

As ghost stories go, Conor McPherson's Shining City is one of the most subdued that Contemporary Theatre has to offer. Director Robert Falls' Broadway production of ten years ago had everyone talking about its kicker moment, but Ciaran O'Reilly's staging for the Irish Repertory Theatre's newly refurbished home could use a little more kick.

The extreme underplaying that Matthew Broderick has brought to his numerous New York stage roles in the past fifteen years tends to vary in effectiveness, depending on how well he's cast and the production surrounding him.

Here he plays a middle-aged businessman named John, who has been feeling the ghostly presence of his wife around his home after she was killed in a car accident. Although he had nothing to do with her demise, John has other reasons to feel guilty in regards to her passing.

In lengthy monologues he explains his situation to his therapist, Ian (Billy Carter), who is still new at the profession after leaving the priesthood. Ian is not only conflicted about his faith, but also about his commitment to his romantic relationship with Neasa (Lisa Dwan), with whom he has a child.

Ian's office, which he's started making more of a permanent home, is in one of the rougher sections of Dublin. One night he ventures out and brings back a fellow named Laurence (James Russell), perhaps in search of a new direction in life.

Broderick's low-key performance in the play's initial scene is well-suited for the intimate space, but his lack of textures makes details about John Seem unbelievable as the play progresses.

When a heated scene between Ian and Neasa takes over, it seems over the top by comparison. This is a play that needs to simmer while drawing parallels between the tensions that John and Ian try to control underneath, but it's only between Ian and Laurence where a properly discomforting level is achieved.