Mark O’Rowe’s play was first produced in Dublin in 2007.
It’s a three hander, constructed from interconnected monologues.
O’Rowe tells a damn good story. Set in modern Dublin, it’s laced with sex, violence and an unconventional theology. It’s both very funny and thought provoking.
O’Rowe employs what’s been described as poetic prose. This particular jury of one is still out in regard to its effectiveness. There are certainly passages of remarkable beauty, a glorious speech in which a young woman reflects on key moments in her life being one. But the use of rhyme, so effective in creating humour, perhaps is less so in representing reality. It depends on your metaphysics, your vision of the nature of Truth, or indeed if you think Truth has any particular nature at all (and is therefore deserving of that capital ‘T’). Despite offering a portrait of a very gritty, wild, dangerous city, the tight connections between the three storylines, the presence of an eschatology (unconventional or not) and, yes, the frequent rhyme, all suggest a world in which there is most definitely an ultimate order…. and that’s a vision of life that’s increasingly less common. (I will note, however, that O’Rowe’s three storylines are hardly of the common garden variety, and so to suggest the play asserts some sort of ultimate Truth might be missing the point – and I’ve reviewed theatre long enough to know that’s a common garden variety occupational hazard.)
This production, directed by Katherine Hopwood Poulsen, is a splendid 115 minutes of theatre. Presented in the basement of the Marrickville Town Hall, the aesthetic is appropriately minimalist, allowing the script and the performances to shine. Tabrett Bethell plays a woman attempting to save another from what she believes is a forced backyard abortion. Bethell has a powerful stage presence that effectively stands in pathos-inducing contrast to the character’s deep fragility. Andrea Tan plays a woman who, in a moment of fatal danger, is aided by the most surprising of heroes. It’s in this storyline that the play is at its most fantastical, and the gorgeous strength of Tan’s performance is that we’re fascinated to see where all this unlikeliness might lead. Johnny Cordukes plays an unexpected serial killer (though I’m not sure I’ve met enough of the type to be certain about the first of those adjectives.) Cordukes nails the macabre humour and, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, keeps us thoroughly engaged in the darkest parts of the tale.
Terminus was my final show for 2023 and, after a wonderful ride through a year of theatre, it was a terrific place for that journey to end.
Paul Gilchrist
Terminus by Mark O’Rowe
Marrickville Town Hall Basement until 16 Dec
Image supplied
Theatre Red 