London in love with jewel in our Arts Festival crown
Date Published: 25-Apr-2012
Anyone who would doubt the potential part our arts and culture sector could play on the path to our economic recovery only needed to drop into London's sold-out 900-seater National Theatre last week to witness Galway's impressive contribution to that process.
Because Misterman – a production that first sold out for the duration of last summer's Arts Festival before going on to charm New York audiences – is now wowing them on the Lyttleton Stage at one of the most prestigious venues in the theatre world after opening to an audience of celebrities, Galwegians and Londoners last week.
The astonishing thing is that, if anything, Cillian Murphy brings more energy and dramatic intensity to the role of Thomas Magill now than he did in Galway last summer – and that's some feat.
He's clearly worked on the minutiae with Enda Walsh to extend and expand this story of a day in the life of a psychopath to the point where it leaves you riveted to your seat.
That said, the silence that marked Misterman's climax on opening night last Wednesday quickly gave way to spontaneous and sustained applause for what has to rank among the finest solo performances ever seen on any stage.
An audience that included Jeremy Irons and his wife Sinead Cusack and sister-in-law Sorcha Cusack, Julie Walters, Ken Loach, Zoë Wanamaker and Edna O'Brien among a host of familiar faces witnessed the latest chapter in a phenomenal success story.
Because Misterman has a long history – Enda Walsh wrote it some years ago but after performing it himself he let it gather dust until he began this collaboration with Cillian Murphy – and yet it could just have ended with being an incredible success in Galway.
That it did is obviously due to the writer and actor but also to the drivers of the Galway Arts Festival like John Crumlish and Paul Fahy who saw that this was a show which deserved a worldwide audience.So the Arts Festival became the co-producers with Landmark and, working on the basis that it's sometimes easier to bring the mountain to Muhammad, the world's great stages have had this jewel in the Galway Arts Festival crown delivered to their door.
Most importantly, this is no flight of fancy, because Misterman is selling out night after night at one of London's most prestigious venues, and it will continue to do so until it closes on May 28.
It could have gone indefinitely if the truth be told, but Cillian Murphy has the small distraction of a promotional tour for his new movie coming up – with Robert de Niro and Sigourney Weaver, no less.In the meantime, he will occupy centre stage at the National Theatre, the force behind recent successes like War Horse, the History Boys, James Corden’s acclaimed One Man Two Guvnors – even the original version of Jerry Springer, the Opera – and its first artistic director was Laurence Olivier almost 50 years ago.
For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.