Tales from the
Northside is a three-part drama anthology produced with support from the
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. It
was the first audio I had knowingly heard come out of Ireland, so I was quite
interested to hear it. My reactions were
mixed to the first two plays and I have not yet heard the third.
The Reading by
Helen McNamara was dark and intense. It
was a subject you might see in a stage play, but seldom on TV: at least in this way, without being jazzed up
by sex and scandal. Maura is Niall’s “common-law”
wife, nursing him through the end of a debilitating illness while his children
from a previous marriage keep out of the way, at least until his death, when
they carve up his property and leave Maura homeless. This subject is not a new one; Dickens did it
in Martin Chuzzlewit. Nevertheless, the three (female) actors
are strong and offer a new voice.
Unfortunately, at over 40 minutes, this play is too long by half.
Poodles by Denis
Byrne is more effective and more varied, but suffers from the same
problem: it’s about 20 minutes too
long. The story is set entirely in a
small café owned by Marie. She has a
confrontation from two unlikely young people, one a junkie and the other his
damaged and abused girlfriend. Despite a
very dark premise, Poodles ends in an
upbeat way. The characters are
interesting and well-played, though a general excess of everything—emotion, tongue-tying speeches, repetitive dialogue—hinders
Poodles’ effectiveness.
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