Review Roundup: The Critics Weigh in on Irish Rep's DISCO PIGS

Irish Repertory Theatre and Tara Finney Productions present the 20th Anniversary Production of Enda Walsh's breakthrough play Disco Pigs. Directed by John Haidar (Last of the Boys), Disco Pigs just opened last night at Irish Rep Theatre (132 West 22nd Street) on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage, and will run through February 18, 2018.

Born at the same time on the same day in the same hospital, Pig and Runt have been inseparable ever since. They speak in their own language, play by their own rules, and create a world for themselves in which boundaries blur between truth and illusion. Until, on their seventeenth birthday, they discover something more. As night falls, and the disco and drink take hold, they spiral violently out of control.

Check out what the critics are saying!

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Jonathan Mandell, DC Theatre Scene: At one point, Pig fantasizes having sex with Runt. But Runt fantasizes having her hand kissed by a romantic stranger. That their adolescent stirrings start so much at odds with one another creates a tension that promises to escalate into an explosive confrontation. At least, that is how one imagines Disco Pigs played out during its original production, when Pig was portrayed by Cillian Murphy, now the menacing gangster Tommy in "Peaky Blinders." Pig and Runt talk of their robbing and stealing and fighting, a life of youthful impulsiveness. The actors in the Irish Rep production, however, do not come off as delinquents, and Campbell's Pig just doesn't seem dangerous. Still, they are both graceful and adorable, with fine comic timing, and for many, that might be enough.

Joe Dziemianowicz, NY Daily News: Director John Haidar's staging moves at a fitting fast and furious clip. So much so your ears may ache as they try to adjust to the accents, unfamiliar references and Pig-and-Runt speak. That gets marginally easier over 75 minutes. The lives of Pig and Runt don't. At one point the two are entranced and inspired by "Baywatch." It's going to take more than the Hoff and Pamela Anderson to rescue these two outcast teens.

Thom Geier, The Wrap: John Haidar, who directed the revival in London, keeps his stars in almost constant motion, often to the beat of mid-'90s pop tunes. The strategy is an effective one, bringing "Disco Pigs" in at a fleet 75 minutes and helping disguise some of the shortcomings of Walsh's early and promising script.

Donna Herman, New York Theatre Guide: Clearly, despite the nearly incomprehensible language I was struggling with as I watched the play, I was able to grasp the gist (alright, and some of the nuance) of the work. I credit the stunning, committed, and physical performances by both Evanna Lynch and Colin Campbell. The two of them were on stage for 75 minutes straight in both emotionally and physically demanding roles that took them, literally, from birth to age 17 in charged circumstances. I think they would not have been able to communicate so ably without the expert guidance of Movement Director Naomi Said. The roller coaster was skillfully piloted by Director John Haidar, who managed both the highs and lows without letting the forward motion drag.

Adam Feldman, Time Out New York: There is much to admire about John Haidar's revival, but despite the actors' energetic performances, the experience of absorbing the play can be exhausting. Since Disco Pigs has almost no props or sets-aside from an old TV, on which Pig and Runt escape to the "Caliphoney" world of Baywatch-we often have only their energetic movement to guide us through the fog of their quasi-gibberish as they narrate their own sordid misadventures on the "piss-grey" streets of Cork, which they call Pork Sity. There is a plot behind the noise: The duo's insular world of telly and kinesis dissolves throughout the play, eroded by Pig's tendencies toward ugly street violence and his sexual attraction to the increasingly restless Runt. But some audience members are bound to tune out early in confusion, and that reaction is understandable.

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