Charlie’s a Clepto
What’s striking about actor/writer Clare Monnelly’s new play, a monologue, is that while single motherhood has lost its social stigma, it still resonates with lonely echoes from the past. Charlie (Monnelly), a twenty-something Dubliner in track suit and hooped earrings, is desperate to get her son back from the social services. Reminiscent of the violent, liminal turf of Mark O’Rowe’s Howie the Rookie, Monnelly presents a sharply observed, female take, conjuring up her troubled past and chaotic present to haunt the stage. As Charlie recounts her tale, one littered with misunderstandings and regrets, she inhabits numerous characters from an alcoholic mother to a loser ex-boyfriend, whizzing us along at breakneck speed. While Monnelly conveys Charlie’s streetwise naivety with compassion, her essence remains elusive so that unfortunately it’s hard to fully make sense of her world of shoplifting and spelling bees. With a bare set and no props or sound design, Monnelly is left troublingly exposed and director Aaron Monaghan’s decision to stage this production in a pared-back, static way presents challenges for a welcome new voice.
Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge. Thu, 8pm. €15-€12. 045 448 327
REVIEW