Dysfunctional Irish family goes under the spotlight in McPherson's The Brightening Air

Irish Post

29-04-2025

A DYSFUNCTIONAL Irish family and its secrets, foibles and quirks are at the heart of Conor McPherson's latest play.
Set in Co. Sligo in 1981, The Brightening Air centres on three siblings as they reunite in their family home, where uncomfortable conversations are due to be had.
Dublin-born McPherson, who has written and directed the play, has assembled an epic cast for its world premiere, with Chris O'Dowd, Rosie Sheehy and Brian Gleeson among them.
Chris O'Dowd stars as Dermot in The Brightening Air (Pic: Manuel Harlan)
In the grandeur of the lofty Old Vic stage, we meet the family as they prepare their dilapidated farmhouse for the arrival of their blind old uncle Pierre, played by Seán McGinley, a former clergyman who has since been ex-communicated by the church.
The house is still home for two of the siblings, namely the put-upon Stephen (Gleeson) and his younger, autistic sister Billie (Sheehy) whom he minds.
The eldest son, Dermot (O'Dowd) is the only one of the three to have left the family home and started a business and a family of his own.
Rosie-Sheehy as Billie (left) and Hannah Morrish as Lydia (Pic: Manuel Harlan)
Yet his return for the get-together brings plenty more baggage to throw into the mix, with his estranged wife Lydia, played by Hannah Morrish, and his new flame Freya (Aisling Kearns) both also in attendance for the day that is in it.
There are excellent performances across the board, as the scene is set for the family turmoil that is about to unravel itself.
Comic jibing and sibling banter erupts as the brothers and sister find themselves back in one room together again.
But it's not long before those interactions turn into emotional stand-offs and the arrival of neighbours and family friends flushes out past heartaches and the jilted lovers among them.
It is precisely the bringing together of everyone that sparks a series of events that drag the entire family into waters new.
Old secrets are dredged up when new plans are announced and while, in true McPherson style, there is comic relief at every corner, there are many heart-wrenching scenes too.
Brian Gleeson as Stephen (PicL Manuel Harlan)
Lydia is so desperate to win back the love of her husband that she will put her faith in the magic of the nearby well water to enchant him.
Stephen has soldiered for so long in the lonely old farmhouse that he has lost all interest in the goings on outside of it.
And Dermot, for all his new clothes and string of young fancy women, is still searching desperately for his path, much to the distress of his discarded wife.
Uncle Pierre, played by Seán McGinley, takes centre stage in McPherson's latest play (Pic: Manuel Harlan)
But it is Billie in her clarity of sight and her ability to call out exactly what is happening around her, who is the most striking character of them all.
When on the stage Sheehy fills it with her powerful, polished showcase of the unpredictable, emotional and eccentric youngest sibling.
When together on stage, Sheehy, O'Dowd and Gleeson are so well connected and in tune with one another that they make for an utterly believable family trio.
Through them, McPherson's latest saga proves itself a thoughtful, thorough and poignant dissection of a traditional Irish family, where, ultimately, everyone is unhappy with their lot.
The Brightening Air runs at The Old Vic until June 14. For tickets visit www.oldvictheatre.com