Brighton gets a taste for “The Murphys.”

The Harbour Theatre Company’s production of MURPHY’S LEGACY in collaboration with County Brighton Irish Society was a stunning success at The Brighton Fringe Theatre Festival

The play was performed at The Geese, Southover Street - one of the most popular pubs in Brighton

After the sell out success of “The M Boat” at last year’s festival, Irish playwright Eddie Alford has written another side-splitting gem. The audiences were engrossed yet completely entertained by Alford’s sharp, quick fire dialogue and story telling in the best Irish tradition. Boasting a fine quartet of professional actors, with Amy Noble as Nancy, a country auctioneer, Abi Hills as a city solicitor, Gearōid Ō Siochāin as Paddy the herd and the writer himself as Fr. Willie, the Harbour Theatre Co. treated to the crowd to a slick, polished performance. They delivered the comic lines with aplomb and the characterisation was flawless.

Alford explores the early days of “The Celtic Tiger” and the church’s attitude towards divorce and sex, particularly within same sex relationships, not to mention pig racing and E.E.C. grants. He uses comic dialogue and farcical situations to interrogate the issues, rather than preaching. Audience participation enabled the actors to interact with the audience. At the beginning, the priest admonishes a young couple for canoodling, and a mock auction of a big house and farm really warmed up the audience. The dynamic created set the tone for an evening of fun with a subtext of seriousness.

The characters were rich and vibrantly played: Amy Noble demonstrated her prodigious acting talents as Nancy, Gearōid Ō Siochāin was the classic Irish country boy who “would live in your ear and charge you for it!”, while Abi Hills’character was the epitome of a nouveau riche, sexually precocious Dublin solicitor, with

Eddie Alford once again relishing the role of the bumbling priest!

Alford cleverly sets the scene with changing images on the pub’s big screen instead of cumbersome set changes, which only adds to the slickness of the production. Sponsors AJ and Claire McGrory provided the venue in their very popular Brighton pub, “The Geese”. The warm, intimate pub setting paved the way for a unique experience, with the close proximity of the actors to the audience ensuring an electric atmosphere. Once again, Eddie Alford and co. get it right with a dynamic and inspired production, with the audience left dazzled by the quality of this exciting theatre company. Murphy’s Legacy has just been nominated for the hotly contested New Writer’s Award for the Fringe Festival.