Review: THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN Delivers on Dark Humor

If you're looking for a hilarious comedy that makes you feel borderline guilty for laughing, look no further than The Cripple of Inishmaan, which opened this weekend at the South Bend Civic Theatre.

The story follows Cripple Billy who, after hearing that a Hollywood film crew is shooting a movie nearby, believes that this is his chance to break free from Inishmaan; that it's his chance to become an American movie star. To say more than that would give too much away and trust me, you want to enjoy all the tiny twists and turns that the play offers, each more hilarious and heartbreaking than the last.

Under the direction of Jim Geisel, the show does a tremendously good job of playing out the rainbow of complexities that are under the surface of outwardly rougher characters who seem to spend most of their time insulting each other. What you come to realize throughout the show is that the many people and relationships presented on stage are very paradoxical; most of the characters can be both rude and charming, sane and insane, loveable and unlovable. These revealing moments can sometimes be small and hard to catch under the heavy artillery of some very dark, albeit extremely humorous, jokes but are still very powerful in presenting the raw nature of the characters and their stories.

The Cripple of Irishmaan's success is due largely in part to the ingenious way the actors were casted. The actors were incredible in their portrayal of their characters and made the world of Inishmaan come to life to the utmost believability. The cohesiveness of the group and their ability to perform well together really brought the feeling of a small island-life to the forefront of my mind. There were three actors who really stood out for their acting abilities and performing talents: Chelle Walters as Kate, Deborah Girasek-Chudzynski as Eileen and David Chudzynski as Johnnypateenmike. These three were flawless, absolutely jaw dropping with talent and always made the story flow easily and with excitement. They really made the show and because of their powerful presence on stage, I wish the author had written their character's bigger roles.

Wonderful performances aside, the whole production quality deserves praise in and of itself: top notch lighting and sound design from Matt Davidson brought forth emotional qualities; Jacee Rohlck's scenic design, which is always very well done, had set pieces that were two-sided, revealing different settings when used accordingly. But for me, it was the intricately detailed prop design from Teri Szynski, that was the cherry on top - filling a small country shop with detailed stock (and more) is no small feat.

Definitely check out The Cripple of Inishmaan at the South Bend Civic Theatre if you are looking to enjoy a dark comedy. It's a great Irish play by a great British/Irish playwright, Martin McDonagh - you won't be disappointed! You can find the rest of the performance times below:

Performances:
August 14th at 2:00 PM
August 17th at 7:30 PM
August 18th 7:30 PM
August 19th 7:30 PM
August 20th 7:30 PM
August 21st 2:00 PM

Photo Credit: Jon Gilchrist

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