Royal Court Theatre: Cyprus Avenue

Cyprus Avenue by David Ireland was a captivating yet chilling production which clearly accentuated the struggles of Ireland's history. This enthralling and contentious play depicted issues still relevant today, which was refreshing.

Classified as ‘the most shocking play on London stage’ by the Guardian, in this black comedy Eric Miller, a Belfast Loyalist, cannot accept the past and is petrified by the future. Experiencing psychotic episodes, he mistakes his five-week old granddaughter for Gerry Adams. This convinces him that his cultural heritage is threatened, and the play concludes with him murdering the ones he loves most.

Stephen Rea, who was awarded Best Actor at the Irish Times Theatre Awards (2017) captivatingly portrayed such a disturbed character. His facade deceivingly appeared normal, but the deeper we went into the play, the further his morality disintegrated. Rea is honourably credible; his sheer naturalism rendered my sympathy to develop into frustration and disgust. His portrayal of the role took me on an emotional journey, reflecting his deteriorating mental state. The physicality was outstanding; every part of his body was reincarnated to create the corrupted character of Bill.

Masterful directing by Vicky Featherstone imaginatively communicated the history between the Catholics and Protestants. Slim, played by Chris Corrigan, provided humour which contrasted the tragedies, providing a suitable balance. The plot twist, whereby Slim was actually a persona of Eric Miller's thoughts, was astonishing. After being encouraged to like Slim, discovering this left me feeling guilty for laughing at the character. Before this play, I had little knowledge of Ireland's history, however it allowed me to acknowledge the influence it had on people, which was alarming in itself.

Ireland notably ends his plays with violence. This production was no different. The final images are truly disturbing; Rea puts his granddaughter in a bag, kicking her to death. Although difficult to watch, one can only admire the emotional strength of Rea who performed this with such conviction to the extent I felt revolted. Moreover, his power to emote an audience to these measures was corroborated by my feelings of infuriation.

Over lockdown, this play has stuck with me the most, and I cannot recommend it enough. While the outrageous acts left me stunned, I was mesmerised.

Cyprus Avenue is sadly no longer available at https://royalcourttheatre.com/whatson/cyprus-avenue-film/ but may perhaps return one day.