The Flags

Published Monday 7 July 2008 at 10:00 by Kevin Berry

Plays based in the Hull Truck region have featured regularly in the company’s programming.

For a change, here is a play set in Ireland.

Bridget O’Connor’s comedy, in which drowning victims are buried in the sand dunes to save on paper work, is more dark- edged than dark. At least it is in this production. A more pronounced fatalism is needed to balance the irrational dreams of its principal characters.

Two lifeguards on a miserable, rubbish-strewn Atlantic beach want to be assigned to Banna, a glorious beach where the German girls go.

JJ is the supposed brains of the pairing, Howie is a well-meaning soul who reminds anyone who cares to listen that all of his relatives have died. Both Michael Glenn Murphy as JJ and Caolan Byrne as Howie are certainly trying hard, perhaps too hard.

Brona C Titley’s sudden appearance, as a deranged woman, saves the first act from floundering in predictable comic belligerence.

Kieran Cunningham’s surprise appearances as the lifeguards’ inspector are key to the play’s tensions.

Paced rather too much like Father Ted, The Flags has entertaining eccentricity and moments of whimsy, but the whimsy is being lost. It has strong language. Nothing wrong with that, but extensive use of the ‘c’ word sits uncomfortably.

The actors have a fine set to work on, designed by Richard Foxton. It is as unglamorous and suggestive of bleakness as it should be. The drab, little world of JJ and Howie is immediately recognisable.