The theatrical spectacle, “The Map of Argentina”, staged at An Taibhdhearc, Galway, receives a four-star rating. Andrew Flynn directs Marina Carr’s latest piece with the involvement of Decadent Theatre Company and Galway Arts Centre.
The protagonist of the story, Deb (played by Maeve Fitzgerald), is a married woman in her forties, with a husband, Sam (portrayed by Mark Huberman), and five kids. Her everyday life is bustling with school concerts, domestic chores and family interactions. However, a secret life exists where she’s passionately and wildly in love with Darby (enacted by Fionn Ó Loingsigh). The play vividly contrasts fervent, forbidden carnal desires with the cosy, hilarious impressions of familial living.
Broaching the thought of breaking her family for a grand passion, Sam’s mother, Laura (actor Bríd Ní Neachtain), alongside Deb’s terminally ill father (performed by Daniel Reardon), display the potential repercussions and remorse involved in such significant decisions. High-stake scenarios are explored and the over-exaggerated passions within the three central characters roil as they confront their future prospects and indecisiveness.
Accompanied by a modern and flexible set by Ciaran Bagnall, which features mobile doors and adjustable furniture, the story’s candid approach to cheating aligns well with the contemporary era. Yet, it possesses age-old, traditional perspectives. The narrative centres around male ego, rivalry, manipulation, and the idea of coveting other’s wives, while stressing the importance of an unbroken family for the sake of grandchildren.
The Map of Argentina is a must-see drama, where illicit love and suppressed aspirations tightly grip you. It uniquely captures intriguing movement and offers more than its constituents. A show that is a visual delight with its beautiful acrobats, it punctuates the drama with a touch of humour, paralleling an indestructible tragicomedy performance by Druid’s, “Endgame”.
Deb’s struggle is a personal one. She yearns to create something of her own before her life ends, after dedicating years as a wife and a mother. While coping with her constant infidelity, she articulates her feelings of betraying herself. Despite knowing the repercussions of her actions, she is confident that this phase will pass, requesting her husband for “one year” before she is ready to come back.
Appreciatively, the performances in this production, especially Fitzgerald’s, demonstrate great strength. The younger artists – Elise Broderick, Aliannah O’Grady, Art Brophy, Fionnuala Barrett, Ely Solan – do a stellar job in portraying the disputes, complaints, longings, manoeuvres, annoyances and delight typical of a large family.
The drama, “The Map of Argentina”, did not originate from a fresh script, given it was released in 2015’s third volume of Carr’s plays. Nevertheless, its engaging narrative grasps and retains your attention throughout. Its intensity could potentially be enhanced by reducing its duration, thus sustaining the taut atmosphere without an interval. Significant production elements include Carl Kennedy’s original score, which might be overly loud for such dramatic stage elements.
In this narrative, which vacillates between being naturalistic and melodramatic, Flynn confidently intertwines multiple elements: the wit and authenticity of domestic life, the lovers’ vibrant passion, the 22-year-old marriage’s blend of affection and animosity, and cautionary stories from the parents’ history. The latter includes bizarre dreams and memories involving Sam’s mother and an Argentinian (Michael Cruz), providing the title for the play. Even though it leaves one questioning the effectiveness of these strange and somewhat arbitrary scenes, they contribute to a robust thematic significance.
You can catch “The Map of Argentina” at An Taibhdhearc till Saturday, July 27th, as part of the Galway International Arts Festival.