Three very different chairs stand in the performance space of Traverse Two, waiting to be occupied by three very different characters, related but representing different stages and experiences of life. Elaine Murphy’s ‘Little Gem’ takes on birth, death and the whole damn thing and for most of its ninety minutes manages to wrestle both reality and posture to the
canvas.
Murphy is fortunate in her cast; Hilda Fay as Lorraine, Sarah Greene as Amber and Anita Reeves as Kay imbue their characters with a genuine sense of integrity, their rounded wholeness very much a match for Murphy's text.
When Lorraine's daughter Amber discovers she's pregnant, her boyfriend is already legging it to the airport and a flight to Australia. Lorraine meanwhile has unsurprisingly reached the end of her tether, but discovers Salsa dance classes and a new man in her life. Meanwhile, Lorraine's own mother, Kay, struggles with caring for her stroke-damaged husband and her own needs, coupled with her sense of guilt over ‘Kermit' lurking in a bedside drawer. Kermit?
Murphy's play, her first, is loosely based on experiences while working for a women's health organisation. It's emotional rather than physical experiences which Murphy delineates so wittily and convincingly in this journey through light and shade, never losing the dignity of her characters, even when her characters appear determined to do just that.
‘Little Gem' produces some delightful theatrical moments, which Fay, Greene and Reeves seize on with clear delight and gusto, and make watching them work a consistent pleasure. Even when the text seems at its darkest, their playing brings a clear and penetrating light.
Avoiding cliché and some of the more obvious tricks and traps Irish theatre writing may sometimes appear to fall into, ‘Little Gem' offers shining delight.
Times: August 7-29, time varies
Copyright Bill Dunlop 2009
First published on EdinburghGuide.com 2009