By Conor O’Neill
From Mary Paracodol, to Stella the Christmas angel, Granny Jazmine, the Grinch of Christmas present, a best man practising his speech, Sam and Ella, Kit Kat the kitchen porter, Gazza the drunken chef, a Wham tribute band, Juicy Lucy 69, gluten free Aunt Bessie’s turkey balls, and more than you can shake the proverbial stick at, writer and actor Caroline Curran easily delivers the best Christmas play I’ve had the pleasure to watch and write about in a long while.
It’s infectious from the start. You begin laughing and end up laughing through your tears at the end.
The upstairs theatre in the MAC is not near as full as this wee gem demands, the reason, it’s 630pm on a wet Tuesday before Christmas. Shoppers are shopping, drinkers are drinking, loopers are looping, yet in a studio in the Cathedral Quarter three actors, no more, no less, are working their asses off to bring us that Christmas cheer.
The plot is simple and concise: Scarlet (Caroline Curran) is waiting on tables, while waiting on her ‘big break’, all the while working in the Wind Your Neck Inn, a pub/restaurant somewhere in Northern Ireland. It’s Christmas eve and with a wedding and funeral happening on the same shift, what could possibly go wrong?
*Rhodri Lewis and Patrick Buchanan*
Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong: nipples north, tits up, and down the fecking river. Yet Scarlett deals with all of this and more. Narrating to Stella, the Christmas tree fairy, we hear of the dramas, the dilemmas, the dreams of Scarlett. Aided and abetted by two worthy character actors. Namely Wham tribute George Michael/frustrated chef/ add on whichever role you need (Rhodri Lewis) and the stark dead-pan of Grinch/best man/Gerry and a few more besides.
The gags are literal, physical and 100% together. I dare you to go three minutes without laughing at this play. Thought not! We meet the locals, get involved, we fall in love with the characters, each one exposing our souls and revealing what’s in us all.
There’s a fair share of music too. 80s classic welcomes us all. And from there, through a step of faith, we all take ourselves on a wee musical journey and delight in a wee wonder down memory lane.
This Christmas play will tear your heart out. There are tender moments, splendid moments, tragic moments and delightful moments. It really has it all.
Best 70 minutes I’ve had this year.
Are Yule Being Served runs up to and including December 31st. For booking details visit http://www.themaclive.com or simply phone the box office on 02895 922554
ENDS
CultureCrush NI 