All My Sons

My wife and I went to see All My Sons at The Gate Theatre last Tuesday. The performance was absolutely fanntastic. The set was impressive too. I first heard of this Arthur Miller play coming to The Gate Theatre back in February when we saw The Real Thing. At the time I figured it'd be one to see. How right I was.

The performances were the best I've ever seen on stage. Len Cariou's performance, his Gate debut, was particularly convincing. He wasn't acting: he was Joe Keller. Barbara Brennan's performance of, Kate, the distraught mother, is also first rate. And Garrett Lombard did a good Chris. In fact, at the risk of sounding like Father Ted, all the performances were very good.

To be fair, the material they have to work with is extraordinary. Miller delivers lines at just the right times, turning the audience's opinion of different characters from apathy to empathy as their inner conflicts are revealed.

This is without doubt a special production and is one to be seen if you have any chance. There were a couple of empty seats on Tuesday night, so if you have a free evening and a few Euro to spare, make a point to go see it. You won't be disappointed.

B