A sprawling new production at Dublin's Abbey Theatre is attempting to capture a century of the city's tumultuous history through the eyes of its ordinary, often overlooked citizens. Barbara Bergin's Dublin Gothic offers what it terms a 'losers' history' of the Irish capital, following four interconnected families from 1880 to the 1980s.
A Century of Struggle and Resilience
The epic narrative, which runs for three-and-a-half hours, opens in the inner-city tenements of 1880. Life here is brutally short, dictated by poverty, disease, and violence, a fact underscored by the symbolic street names like Tosser's Pot and Cutpurse Row that pepper the script. The story weaves through major historical events, using a broad brush to depict the strikes in the slums, the 1916 Easter Rising, the early years of independence, and the heroin and HIV-Aids crises of the 1980s.
At its heart is the spirited character of Honor Gately, a sex worker fiercely determined to defy her grim circumstances. Played with compelling force by Sarah Morris, Honor's lineage provides a crucial thread through time. Morris also portrays Honor's great-granddaughter, who begins to break the cycles of trauma by writing a novel, suggesting a fragile hope for the future.
An Anti-Heroic Parade of Historical Figures
Bergin populates her teeming canvas with a host of historical and emblematic figures, all presented with a pointedly anti-heroic slant. The ensemble introduces loosely drawn incarnations of James Joyce, Pádraig Pearse, and Brendan Behan, alongside a musician reminiscent of Bob Geldof or Bono. A rogues' gallery of abusive, duplicitous, or simply pathetic men—including politicians, priests, and wastrel writers—flashes past, with the drive of the narrative sometimes sacrificing subtlety for momentum.
One standout comic performance comes from Thommas Kane Byrne as Honor's 'blubberpus' son, an accidental patriot caught up in the Easter Rising. His portrayal brings a gleeful, chaotic energy to the revolutionary moment.
A Production of Ambitious Scale
Directed by Caroline Byrne, the production is a feat of logistics and energy. A dynamic ensemble cast of 19 actors remains on stage throughout, collectively portraying over 120 characters. They function as a constantly shifting chorus, narrating the plot while whirlwinding through exposition and rapid costume changes.
The action unfolds on Jamie Vartan's imposing set, a cross-section of a tenement building that stacks different living spaces vertically. While this design offers dramatic potential, the sheer volume of story to be told often limits the staging to manoeuvring the large cast around this structure. The narrative's expansive, sometimes smothering nature leaves little room for deeper, new insights into the well-trodden historical ground.
Despite its ambitious scale and the punchy commitment of its performers, Dublin Gothic ultimately presents a vast, swirling portrait where the epic sweep can overwhelm the intimate human stories it seeks to champion. The production continues at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin until 31 January.
