Entertainment.ie
★ ★ ★ ★ and a half!
In its first Dublin Theatre Festival production for over 20 years,
Dublin Youth Theatre presents an incredibly moving piece of theatre
exploring the burdens borne by young carers for whom the parent/child
roles of protector and dependent have been reversed within the family
home. A potent collaboration between last year’s Fishamble New Writing
Award winner Shaun Dunne (Death of the Tradesmen; I am a Home Bird) and
DYT Artistic Director Gary Keegan (also co-founder of Brokentalkers –
Have I No Mouth; The Blue Boy), I’ve to Mind Her centres on the poignant
plight of fifth-year student Paul, who lives alone with a mother
incapacitated by mental health struggles and for whom he is the sole
guardian.
A sense of isolation and incarceration hangs over the set; a family
home cramped by the thick dark walls of the Black Box space and
scattered with articles of domestic duty – an ironing board, a kettle,
kitchen crockery – as well as several video cameras and a large
projection screen. Combining DYT’s focus on ensemble work and Dunne’s
post-dramatic form of storytelling, a cast of eight impressive young
actors shifts shape and interchanges roles throughout. Onstage
voiceovers narrate much of the action, address the audience directly and
articulate the protagonist’s private thoughts – he worries how much of
his mother’s illness he may have inherited, he muses on all of the
things he needs from her that she cannot provide, he imagines passing on
her care and admitting that he just cannot manage any longer.
While I’ve to Mind Her concentrates on the heart-breaking story of
one teenager’s struggle to cope and reach out for help, Dunne’s script
ensures that the emotional core of the play resonates beyond the
specifics of Paul’s case. We are left with great compassion for others
in his circumstances and a desire to see them protected and supported -
for when the child is the carer, who cares for the child?
Ends 6 October.
Review by: Donna Marie O’Donovan
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