Review: Holy Mary

This was my first opportunity to catch something on the children’s strand of the festival. More shame to me. But I definitely caught a good one.

Holy Mary is written by Eoin Colfer, the acclaimed author of the bestselling Artemis Fowl books. It tells the story of young Mary (played by Aileen Mythen) getting ready to make her first Holy Communion but she has to overcome obstacles like her burnt out mother, their lack of money and the constant taunts and insults from local bully Majella Barnes.

This is a hilarious, inventive and touching piece of theatre. And like the best children’s theatre, the adults were laughing just as much as the children were. In short, there was something here for everyone. The dialogue just snapped and crackled with childish insults and retorts that were so wickedly funny that I’d fear some of them are getting stored up for use in playgrounds this September. There were some great one liners and lovely word play, communion bread being described as ‘slices of Jesus’ in particular was one that had me cracking up.

The performances were spot on. Aileen Mythen was, as always, on the ball and used her strong vocal skills to create an entirely believable 8 year old girl. It was a marvellous performance and one that hit every joke and emotional beat with the same precision. Iseult Golden did a wonderful job of creating every other character in the play. Everything she did was fluid, sharp and crystal clear. She also played a lot of the live score which was even more impressive. Their scenes together as mother and daughter were particularly strong.

Props must go to Liam Halligan for his precise direction and presentation of Colfer’s story. A fantastic piece of children’s theatre, Holy Mary needs to be seen by as many people as possible. And not necessarily just children either!

John

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