That rather neglected theatrical genre, the Christmas musical, has been given a welcome injection of new life by talented young Northern Ireland composer Conor Mitchell, who has taken a slice of everyday life in a small Ulster town and turned it into something refreshingly original.
From deliberately anonymous beginnings, Mitchell and director Rachel O’Riordan have crafted a show which starts slowly and inconsequentially, before subtly opening doors into lives which have real depth and pathos.
It is 15 years since Ian McElhinney last appeared on the Lyric stage, although he has directed many successful productions there and internationally in the meantime. He is utterly at home beneath the skin of Mervin Ford, a world-weary widower, whose rundown off licence was once the place where people flocked in search of a bottle of the finest wine but is now the last occupied building in a condemned street. Mervin is at the epicentre of the story, lamenting the loss of a rose-tinted past and the death of his beloved wife Betty and forced to confront the depressing realities of modern day life.
The present is represented by his rebellious daughter Kelly (Rachel Tucker), whose shocking arrival into the shop on Christmas Eve brings unwelcome news for Mervin. With her is her yobbish boyfriend Dessie (Colm Gormley) and her hyperactive mate Soup (Mark Dugdale). But it is the sudden, unsettling appearance of their former neighbour Petunia McWilliams (Susan Crothers) who brings about real change - first in Mervin and, gradually, in the others too.
Mitchell’s music is dense and tightly constructed, his lyrics are witty and the whole thing is confidently performed by a strong cast. Gary McCann’s realistic set is transformed from dingy to magical by Sinead McKenna’s lighting, as this tale of ordinary people winds in to a satisfying conclusion. And not a singing nun in sight.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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