Writer: Conor Kelly O’Brien
Director: Conor Kelly O’Brien
A drama company’s attempts to bring Ulysses, James Joyce’s impossible to adapt and equally impossible to read novel, to the stage is the premise of this show from Scranton Fringe Festival and The New Vintage Ensemble.
Opening as the company try and perform a scene that no-one other than the director understands, it quickly shifts to a debate about the merits of the novel and then to an honest and humorous pastiche of every drama company that has ever had massive ambitions for a Fringe show that may be out of kilter with their abilities to deliver it.
Conor Kelly O’Brien’s script and direction are at their strongest when the book is merely the background to the play. The actors play characters with their names who are playing characters from the book, with the exception of the director who is played by Simone Daniel. Daniel’s desire to explain the thinking behind her decisions are frequently cut short while she also undermines her own attempts to be a hard assed director by having a crush on Colin Holmes playing Dedalus. As others reflect on the disconnect between being on a stage miles away from home, their real lives, and the lives that are going on without them, the characters remain convincing and engaging and the scenes between them all the more amusing for the recognisability of the depictions.
The scenes pulled from the book are reimagined with songs and puppets, or sometimes played in a semi-straight style. While some of these add an enjoyable level of absurdity, they also become an unwelcome distraction from the exploration of the dynamics of the production.
The show ends as the curtain is about to rise on their first performance. As to whether the cast and writer have read more of Joyce’s novel than most people who have started and failed to finish it, is refreshingly unclear.
Runs until 29 August 2026 (not 17, 24, 25) | Image: Contributed
The Reviews Hub Star Rating
70%
Successful unadaptable adaption