Review
Defender of the Faith
Irish Repertory Company
April 10, 2007
VanLoan
vanloan@nyconstage.org

"Where is God in all this?" wails Thomas near the end of Stuart Carolan's passionate Defender of the Faith. He is sitting at the table in the kitchen/living area (excellent set design by Charles Corcoran) with his younger brother Danny who is on the floor in a near catatonic state watching television. How Thomas arrived at this desperate state provides the powerful dramatic thrust of Mr. Carolan's first play which concerns the Irish "troubles" of the 1980's.

The IRA movement is in a bit of a doldrums after a burst of intense activity in the early decade. Operations are sporadic and an intense paranoia has set in due to British infiltration. There is a constant lookout for informers whom are the scum of the populace. Set on a farm on the Northern Ireland border with the south, IRA activist Father (he is never named outright in the play) rules with an iron fist over Thomas and Danny. His wife has been institutionalized after a nervous breakdown due to the drowning of her son Seamus (Schammie) leaving the boys motherless. Father is visited by an IRA operative (a forceful David Lansbury) who feels that a procedure is being compromised due to a local informant. The suspicion of a spy in the village quickly causes devastating consequences for the family especially involving the death of the beloved Schammie.

Defender of the Faith starts out shakily. Carolan seems to have been unduly influenced by David Mamet; the dialogue in the first few scenes is scattershot and a tad contrived. The spirit of Martin McDonagh hovers about as well with an emphasis on humorous violence. The author soon finds his voice and settles down to the story at hand. Ostensibly about the Northern Irish's struggle for independence, it soon becomes apparent that the real story is the dynamics of father/son relationships. As the identity of the stool pigeon is discovered and buried truths are brought to light, the bond between Thomas and Father becomes ugly (the fact we learn who the informant is in mid-show does little harm to the mis-en-scene). Honor to cause vs. loyalty to blood and the brutal costs that each demand are placed at the apex of the piece. The ensemble of actors led by the superb Luke Kirby as Thomas is first-rate throughout; the cast is ably aided by Ciaran O'Reilly aggressive direction. The title refers to Sir Thomas More who was beheaded by Henry VIII for refusing to recognize the Church of England (established by Henry to allow him to divorce). The emotional damage wrought by the "troubles" with its various killings and corruptions of truth shows that the will to corrupt has changed little over the centuries. Defender of the Faith, a muscular debut work is a fine exemplar of this.

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