ion starts 10th anniversary season with a contemporary gem
By Charlene Baldridge | SDUN Theater Critic
Irish playwright Conor McPherson (b. Dublin, 1971) has written other plays seen in San Diego, specifically “The Weir” at The Old Globe Theatre and “The Seafarer” seen at San Diego Repertory Theatre. McPherson’s latest play is “The Night Alive,” seen very recently at London’s Donmar Warehouse.
To start off its 10th anniversary season, ion theatre could not have picked a better work than McPherson’s 2008 “Shining City.” And Glenn Paris could not have picked a better actor in the crucial role than his spouse and theater partner, Claudio Raygoza.
In “The Shining City,” McPherson presents a small gathering of losers in modern day Dublin. The setting is a rundown building where Ian (played by Frances Gercke), a former priest and now a trained therapist, has hung his shingle. Even the doorbell doesn’t work, a fact that lends the bleak comedy moments of humor.
A despairing client named John (Raygoza) arrives. John’s been seeing the ghost of his wife, who died in an accident for which John holds himself accountable.
Apparently Ian’s departure from the priesthood was caused by his attraction to Neasa (Jessica John), a rather slatternly parishioner who became the mother of his child. Also apparently, the troubled Ian has run away from them both, telling Neasa, “It’s not about the baby. I just can’t continue with you.”
Totally at sea without Ian, Neasa pleads, “Can’t you see what this is doing to me?”
Impressive newcomer Zach Bonin portrays Laurence, brought to Ian’s office in the hope that the young man might help the struggling therapist to discover who he is in a world without God and without ghosts. Bonin plays the stranger so understatedly that we know exactly who he is: a good man caught in rough times, and aren’t they all?
McPherson’s characters are bereft, blaming themselves for their own inability to find what they lack, whether some one or some thing, to make themselves whole. All have treated others – important others – so shabbily.
Raygoza said he did not pick “Shining City” as a vehicle for himself. Nonetheless, the role of John proves an incandescent, vulnerable, fathoms-deep portrayal that will not be forgotten. You are urged to see this production not just for that, however.
Each role is played impeccably. And director Paris puts his finger on the pulse of what makes us human and what makes McPherson such an important playwright.
Design elements – the work of sound designer James Dirks, visiting artist Neville Engelbrecht, lighting designer Karin Filijan, costume designer Jessica John, scenic designer and dialect coach Raygoza, and backdrop artist Ron Logan – come together to enhance this gem that does indeed shine. The final image, courtesy of the playwright, will rock you. I Promise.
Played without an interval, the 96-minute production continues Thursdays through Saturdays at ion’s Elaine Lipinsky Stage, closing Sept. 28.
“Shining City”
WHERE: ion theatre, 3704 Sixth Ave. (Hillcrest)
WHEN: Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. through Sept. 28
INFO: 619-6000-5020
WEB: iontheatre.com
