Theatre review: The Beacon
The Everyman's summer blockbuster delivers only glimmers.
Going to the theatre in a country where the sun only makes fleeting appearances throughout the summer is a risky business. On the one hand, if what awaits you inside the auditorium shakes you to your very core, well then it’s worth the sacrifice, and it’ll still be bright outside by the time you re-emerge.
On the other, if you’re left somewhat underwhelmed by proceedings, then you’ve just missed out on the best part of the evening and might feel more than a little aggrieved at having done so.
Perhaps this thought crossed the minds of some audience members entering and exiting The Everyman during the brief but intense summer heat, when going to see The Beacon by Nancy Harris - the latest offering in the Everyman’s summer programme, which has just so happened to coincide with a full-on heatwave.
By stark contrast, however, it is a frosty atmosphere that prevails on stage, where Beiv (Geraldine Hughes), a celebrated artist living on an unnamed island off the west coast of Cork, is visited by her estranged son, Colm (Leonard Buckley), and his bubbly new American wife, Bonnie (Ayoola Smart).
The play is set in Beiv’s small cottage, which doubles as a studio space, with large windows on all sides opening out onto the sea. This is conveyed in the stage design by large video screens projecting shots of the ocean and a smoke machine, giving the impression of mist and fog rolling in from the horizon.
Yet, as transparent as the room may be, it is a great contradiction that the only people who pass through the house itself are all closed off, seemingly burdened by the secrets of their past.
The pair of newlyweds are barely given any sort of welcome by Beiv, and their presence appears to be no cause for celebration for her. Instead, the widowed artist carries herself with a distinct sense of world-weariness and directs her coldness towards the loved-up couple, who have unintentionally interrupted her creative routine.
The awkward family reunion is further compounded by the arrival of Donal (Ross O’Donnellan), an old friend of Colm’s, whom he knew from visiting the area in the summer as a teenager. Donal, however, is now a close confidant of Beiv and, seemingly, the only person in the area who doesn’t believe she was involved in the suspicious death of her husband.
It is obvious from their first encounter that Donal and Colm share unspoken tension. The former is taken aback by the news that Colm has recently married, and the two must confront what has passed between them.
While the action of the play moves at a steady pace, it is jam-packed with a plethora of ideas and opinions, including many references to popular visual artists, both explicit and implicit. Tracey Emin is commended by Beiv for her drawing skills, while Damien Hirst gets a coded reference via his diamond skull creation, which is duly mocked for its supposedly crass conception.
However, it is this very diamond skull with which The Beacon shares many traits. The play feels like the work of someone who spends too much time online, listens to excessive daytime radio, and consequently regurgitates unoriginal ideas, forming a sort of gospel according to a socially acceptable, left-leaning liberal ideology, oblivious to its own dogmatism.
Reading Sara Joyce’s directorial notes after the performance, it was impossible not to experience cognitive dissonance when she praised the “masterful” writing and claimed the play would “outlive the moment” as part of a canon.
In reality, Ayoola Smart brings life and vigour to her role, winning over the audience from the outset. Buckley’s intensity is admirable, yet the characters, particularly Stephen O’Leary’s brief cameo as podcaster Ray, remain one-dimensional and clichéd, serving only to deliver soundbites on art, sexuality, and feminism.
Strip away the oceanic projections, and you’re left with little more than a table, a chair, a couch, and a barrage of hastily debated topics by characters devoid of depth.
The Beacon strains to be edgy and contemporary, so desperate to stand on the “right side” of every moral question that it neglects its sole duty: to art, not to popular opinion.
The Beacon by Nancy Harris runs in The Everyman Theatre until July 19. For more information on tickets please see here
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