ANYONE familiar with the rubber neck of Ross O’Carroll-Kelly will find the idea of him as a broken, self-aware patriarch looking for redemption as his wildest pitch yet. Well, believe it.
In ‘Breaking Dad’, the ROCK’s new comedy at UCH, darling Ross (Rory Nolan) is most definitely caught between a hard place (wife Sorcha), a soft place (daughter Honor) and his rackety-rock past that becomes all to present (school rugby captain, Traolach).
The game has moved to 2020 when Bertie is invoked as standard-bearer for society by the fixer heart of the family, Grandad Charles (Philip O’Sullivan).
’tis Exposé time for the Dork from Dort-land. Worse, his missus (Aobhin Garrihy) could have a top ambassadorial job spiked consequently with her Shimmy Choos.
The evidence points to the Blackrock jock (Emmet Byrne) that comes a-courting snotty Honor (Róisín O’Neill) being a pebble thrown the other side of the wall by Ross. Worse, this boastful deed took place on the eve of his marriage 19 years ago.
Traolach has been raised in the belief that his dad was not worth mentioning, much less finding. And if Sorcha wants to get out finally, it’s only because her cipher profile will be punctured.
There is a relentless acuity to Paul Howard’s writing and he is spot-on with parent/ teen tensions. The premise of unplanned parenthood thanks to O’Carroll-Kelly’s strut is credible. Young Traolach is the head off his alleged Old Man and his gift for rugby blather and courtship cockery is typical.
Yet a new tenderness on Ross’ part for this fine young cannibal yields the funniest, far out moments.
Jimmy Fay’s direction amplifies the show/ faux values with a portico front door, marble kitchen without a hob but with decanter, and boutique sleek of Sorcha (Aoibhín Garrihy). Their accents ache with tortured vowels.
‘Breaking Dad’ is a fast and funny show, its one set working with clever wells of lighting for umpteen scenarios. A quibble: the able Laurence Kinlan (Love/ Hate and The Guard) is cast as fellow-pebble Ronan, and has little to do other than be exemplar for Ross’ promiscuity.
At University Concert Hall all this week, www.uch.ie
by Rose Rushe
P.S. Thanks for the tip of powdered baby-formula as diet potion.
