Review Roundup: Irish Rep's THE SAVIOUR Opens Off-Broadway

Irish Repertory Theatre is currently presenting Landmark Productions (Anne Clarke, Founder and Producer) world stage Premiere of The Saviour, written by Deirdre Kinahan (Embargo) and directed by Louise Lowe (The Book of Names). The production opens tonight Thursday, July 13 for a limited engagement through Sunday August 13, 2023.

Check out what the critics have to say below!

On the morning of her 67th birthday, Máire sits up in bed enjoying a cigarette. She has recently been swept off her feet by a stranger and hasn't felt this alive in years, but a visit from her son with dark revelations challenges the euphoria.

Deirdre Kinahan's fiercely funny and utterly gripping new play charts an extraordinary shift in Ireland's social, political, and religious life. It asks questions about responsibility, how we respond to trauma, and the tricky question of forgiveness.

The Saviour stars legendary Irish actress Marie Mullen (The Music Man, Broadway; The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Druid Theatre Company, for which she won a Tony Award) in a tour-de-force performance. She is joined by Jamie O'Neill in this riveting two-hander directed by one of Ireland's leading theatre directors, Louise Lowe.

The Saviour features scenic and lighting design by Ciarán Bagnall (Red), costume design by Joan O'Clery (RSC's Macbeth) and sound design by Aoife Kavanagh (Ghosts). The Landmark Productions Stage Manager is Leanna Cuttle (The Lost O'Casey), and Assistant Stage Manager is Alannah O'Leary (Old Ghosts). The Irish Rep Production Stage Manager is Karen Evanouskas (An American in Paris).

Charles Isherwood, The Wall Street Journal: Under the wire-taut direction of Louise Lowe, the confrontation that follows rises in emotional temperature with disorienting speed. Máire refuses to believe what Mel tells her, scorning the idea of looking at the evidence Mel flourishes on his phone. Ms. Mullen reveals through Máire’s increasing physical agitation and scorching voice her rising anger and outrage at having her private life spied upon. Making bold denials, she justifies herself by saying that at least Martin brought “a little happiness into the loneliness of this house.”

David Finkle, New York Stage Review: How Máire reacts in the remaining 70 minutes, how her religious convictions in regard to her beloved Jesus prevail – or don’t– won’t be revealed here. But Mullen’s superior performance as an aging woman holding tenaciously to the possibility of new romance is further enhanced, just as religion is kept from gaining any kind of upper hand.

Average Rating: 85.0%