'Reunion' review — the cast is beautifully in sync in this stormy family drama

Read our review of Mark O’Rowe's play Reunion, now in performances at the Kiln Theatre to 11 October.

Summary

• A fractious clan gathers to commemorate their late father in this new Mark O'Rowe play
• The drama is set in a cottage off the Irish coast
• Peter Corboy impresses as the deeply insecure Maurice

The fireworks come fast and considerably more than furious in Reunion, the Mark O’Rowe play that has come to London after premiering last year in Galway, in western Ireland. Bringing together 10 characters all ready to claw one another’s eyes out, the net result of the 100-minute production (no interval) is excitement at the quality of the ensemble acting – and slight exhaustion at the cumulative effect of the vitriol on view.

The setting is a cottage off the Irish coast where a storm brewing outside is as nothing compared to the tempest that is roiling within the four walls of Francis O’Connor’s detail-perfect set.

Elaine (Aisling McGuckin), the mum, has assembled a gathering of the clan in commemoration of her late husband. The guest list consists of the three children and their partners: along for the bumpy ride are the gently vacant father, Felix (Stephen Brennan, deliciously deadpan), of son Maurice’s partner Holly (Simone Collins), and a surprise visitor in the form of the determined (to put it mildly) Aonghus (a feral Ian-Lloyd Anderson), who hasn’t taken gently to being discarded by daughter Marilyn (Kate Gilmore) in favour of her dutifully loyal Ciaran (Leonard Buckley, instantly charismatic).

As spuds are peeled and dinner is readied, the initial chat of ferry journeys and inclement weather quickly shifts topic and tone. Janice (Venetia Bowe), Elaine’s other daughter, takes Marilyn to task for her child-rearing skills, accusations of adultery make themselves known, various men start to tussle physically just as the women do verbally, and Elaine’s lovesick younger sister, Gina (Catherine Walker), finds unlikely romantic refuge. Gina’s arc is unconvincing, though, as if O'Rowe isn't quite sure how to up the ante of his own narrative.

Red-hot drama can of course be invigorating, as we know from the Greeks and the likes of August: Osage County. That latter, though, makes something more of the assemblage than merely ramped-up anger, and you clock after a while the the reluctance of the characters in Reunion to talk about much else besides their (copious) grievances.

Aonghus, we’re told, has been living in Germany and has a sideline career as a poet whose output includes a particular entry entitled “Fart”, but there’s something wearyingly hermetic about the concerns on view. The smaller-scale Howie the Rookie, the play with which this author first announced himself a quarter-century ago, in its miniaturist way had a greater impact.

Still, the cast under O’Rowe’s direction is beautifully in sync even as those they are playing most definitely are not. Peter Corboy is especially deft playing the sort of person who has to insert himself into every narrative – he can’t abide, for instance, not being thought equally responsible for his wife’s pregnancy. Walker limns the insecurity that runs deep beneath Gina's blithe sexuality, and McGuckin lays bare what happens when simmering tensions boil over and the meal being prepared turns out to be far less savoury than anyone could have wished for.

Reunion is at the Kiln Theatre to 11 October. Book Reunion tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Reunion (Photos by Mark Senior)