Dudley Road – Union Theatre, Southwark

Writer: Cameron Corcoran
Director: Simon Pilling

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Fragmented Family Drama”

3 / 5

With seven children already, and his wife in hospital delivering his eighth, Paul Corcoran spends more time with his head in a whisky bottle than stepping up as the head of the family. His daughter Anne is getting married and moving to Ireland, and an unexpected visitor dredges up the past that he was certain he’d left behind.

Set in 1980s England, Irish immigrant Paul (James Finnegan) is a product of the past – sure that women should be in the kitchen providing for the men of the house, and unenthusiastic about his position as a father and role model to his many children. Instead, he’s happy to push people away and pass on his parenting duties to the older children in the household – such as Anne (Anna Georgina) who takes an active role in looking after her younger brother Michael (Cameron Corcoran) even though she has an impending wedding and responsibilities of her own. This charged family drama focuses on the fractured family unit, the generational disconnect and the one-sided hardship of trying to keep relationships and connections strong in the midst of conflict.

Writer Cameron Corcoran does a great job of establishing the family ties between the four main performers. The script is tender and believable, with each of their personalities clear and defining from very early on in the performance. At the centre of the storyline is Paul, who very quickly showcases his alcohol dependency and ‘old school’ outlook on life. His character never fully progresses past this or develops as the show continues, meaning at points, his role does begin to become quite repetitive. Nearing the end of the second act however, there is a glimmer of reflection and regret, which is welcomed by the audience. He is mostly bed bound, cared for by youngest daughter Claire (Charlie Culley), a shell of his former self and abandoned by the family members he had treated poorly. There is a hauntingly beautiful memory showcased with the use of shadows, that adds a tender poignancy to his otherwise gruff demeanour.

Although it is a five person cast, most of the conversations are only ever between two characters at a time, these fragmented snippets of interactions mirroring the broken family dynamic itself. It would be great to see some more scenes where everyone is involved, to add some more realism, as well as to really utilise the strong cast with as much exposure as possible. As it stands, Padraic (Daragh Cushen) is disappointingly underused, his unexpected story and connection to the family especially intriguing and engaging, yet only briefly touched on during the two scenes he is part of, leaving the audience wanting more after his fraught revelation.

The cast of five are wonderfully believable in their character portrayals, each highlighting the individual personalities well, while still subtly showing a clear familial thread to tie them together. A bit of tightening focus in the script would really help to connect to the characters further, while also drilling deeper into the themes of generational trauma and family commitments in this layered family drama.

Runs until 17^th January 2025