Brightening Air – Enlightening theatre

It’s a brave soul that takes a financial gamble on buying a ticket to see new drama in a London theatre.

With ticket prices reaching eye-watering levels to see Marvel stars in traditional favourites, it often feels as though the ‘let’s give it a go’ theatregoer might soon become a thing of the past.

Now, suddenly, there’s a reason to hope, with the world premiere of Conor McPherson’s first new play, The Brightening Air, now at the Old Vic Theatre close to Waterloo Station.

And thanks to the Old Vic’s commitment to affordable theatre and inclusive access it’s accessible too.

It’s a true ensemble piece, hanging in time and space. The players only have first names, no surnames, so we can focus on the individual rather than their lineage, provenance or the period.

It’s an every person experience firmly rooted in Irish heritage, illustrated by the ethereal familial film backdrops in the second half.

Like every family stage drama, it draws comparisons with Chekov and Miller.

But A Brightening Air has its voice and a place of its own, with multiple story strands from the errant husband, the priest seeking resolution of questions over faith, abandoned lives discarded in the love and care of others and a heavy sprinkling of fairy dust with references to love potions, witches and spells.

The plot twists and thickens, moving from light-hearted tomfoolery to reflective philosophy in a single leap. Some of the strands are introduced or discarded suddenly, which can leave a sense of ‘where did that come from’, or ‘what happened about that’?

But the most compelling reason to grab tickets and run to the theatre are its stand-out, stage-storming performances.

Theatre, TV and film fans will be familiar with Chris O’Dowd, whether from recent Black Mirror, Big Town, Small Story or the IT Crowd (among, of course, many others). He is downright fabulous as Dermot, husband of the desperate Lydia (Hannah Morrish), ‘man about provincial town’ and café owner and entrepreneur, finding (and ultimately losing) his legs alongside his young PA Freya (an excellent Aisling Kearns).

Every performance is glorious, but the lugubrious, laconic farmhand Brendan (Eimhin Fitzgerald Doherty) and Dermot’s brother Stephen (Brian Gleeson) deliver pathos and a sense of the inevitable with understated, heart wrenching accuracy.

Our overriding reason to run to the Old Vic, though, is the barnstorming Rosie Sheehy as Billie, embracing her character’s neurodiversity and shining on a stage of other brilliant stars.

The Brightening Air runs until June 14, with the following accessible performance:

·       Audio described: Friday 30 May, 7.30pm (Touch Tour 5.30pm) Saturday 31 May, 2.30pm (Touch Tour 12noon)

·       Relaxed (also Audio described, Captioned and BSL interpreted): Saturday 31 May, 2.30pm (Touch Tour 12noon)

·       Captioned: Saturday 31 May, 2.30pm Monday 02 June, 7.30pm

·       British Sign Language (BSL) interpreted: Saturday 31 May, 2.30pm Friday 06 June, 7.30pm

As an Access Member you will be able to buy tickets online (including wheelchair spaces) and pick the best seats in the house to suit your requirements – for example front row, aisle seats, the best seats to view the captioned units or to hear the audio description. For further details visit https://www.oldvictheatre.com/visit/ov-access/access-membership/.

Pictured: Rosie Sheehy (Billie), Brian Gleeson (Stephen), Chris O'Dowd (Dermot) and Aisling Kearns (Freya). Photo by Manuel Harlan.