Walworth Farce

Margaret Helman
30th May 2018

The contemporary Irish playwright Edna Walsh shot to fame in 1997 when he won his first award for Disco Pigs and his trajectory has continued, as each new work seems to scoop the pools.

The Walworth Farce is set in a small, dismal council flat in London where Dinny (Laurence Coy) is holed up with his two sons. Ever since they arrived from Ireland as little boys Dinny has locked them away from the dangers of the outside world in Walworth Road, South London.

Each day at 11am Dinny endlessly and aggressively forces his two sons (Robin Goldsworthy and Troy Harrison) - now grown men - to perform a farce. The story line is a reinactment of their final day in Ireland. Ultimately fact and fiction, time and tide become blurred as the years go by and as their psychological states become more strained in their claustrophobic environment. And then - there is a knock on the door...

The script of the play is dense and challenging but also superbly crafted. At once hilarious and deeply moving as the sons become more frustrated the play becomes terrifying and violent.

The design elements by Isabel Hudson are wildly creative and the actors playfully and skilfully use the worn out props for laughs.

The actors never miss a beat delivering the complex and demanding script. Their comedic physicality contributes enormously to the success of this play.

Workhorse Theatre Company presents the play. They started out in Sydney in 2011 and since then their work has been critically acclaimed with numerous awards. They are now star players in the Sydney independent theatre scene.

The Walworth Farce runs until June 9.