@ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sun 30 Aug 2015 (times vary)
When Annie Ryan first read Eimear McBride’s award winning novel, she knew it belonged on the stage. First seen last year at Dublin Theatre Festival, it appears this year at the Traverse, and hopefully not for the last time. It is a harrowing but poetic script: a story that needs to be told, although not so easy to hear. With a courageous solo performance, Aoife Duffin fully embodies the role and completely holds the audience, in this Beckett-inspired production.
For the nameless protagonist me, and her dying brother you, it hasn’t been an easy life, but she takes no self-pity as her stream-of-consciousness tells us about life growing up. A brother with a brain tumour, a sexually abusive uncle, a jealous mother and a half-formed girl: the stage is filled with characters, but you almost forget that there is only one actor.
A mesmerising and unforgettable performance from Duffin, who has already bagged an award this Fringe alongside Molly Vevers (Ross & Rachel). She takes the audience on a journey, creating pure theatre and raw emotion, trying to make sense of the fragments of a troubled youth, filling the audience with the pain and guilt: ‘I met a man who… I met a man who…’
She loses her self respect, she cannot control her life, her Catholic upbringing, her dysfunctional family; it’s heart wrenching watching her as she punishes herself, trying to numb the pain. Although in parts it can make you smile, with what little innocence remains, it may also bring you to tears. A story that may have otherwise not been told, but a truth that may be known already.