Irish playwright Conor McPherson has said that he wants his sentences "to paint clear pictures in people's heads." That's exactly what's going on at Mount Adams Bar & Grill where the Know Theatre Tribe is presenting McPherson's 2001 script of three interwoven monologues,
Port Authority.
We meet three men at points of transition. Kevin (Chris Guthrie) is young, leaving home for the first time, with no particular direction other than music and girls. Dermot (Nick Rose) is at an uncertain intersection during middle age, embarking on a new job but with no confidence that he knows what he's doing. And Joe (Michael Burnham) is looking back over a moment of "what if," prompted by a small present containing a photo of a woman he was attracted to. Their everyday lives and everyday events become hauntingly poignant tales.
That's the product of a remarkable script that breathes with the lilt of Irish vernacular speech and a cast of accomplished actors who know how to get down to a character's core. It's made all the more immediate and vital because it's presented in the back room of the Bar & Grill, where 40 to 50 people can enjoy an intimate evening's performance with the three actors wandering between the tables and spinning their yarns.
Each man tells a story of yearning -- for recognition, for friendship, for love. Each tale proceeds for five to seven minutes, then shifts to another teller. Over the course of 90 minutes, with Kevin, Dermot and Joe talking to you as if you were in a pub hearing their tales, you learn about their vulnerable humanity. Kevin decides people are divided between those who fight and those who "go with the flow." These three are the latter -- in fact, they are swept along by the river of life around them, too timid to grab a hold or make a choice. And yet we come to care about each man, feeling his wistful uncertainties. McPherson's "clear pictures" of these three men will linger after their stories have been told. Grade: A
PORT AUTHORITY, presented by the Know Theatre Tribe at Mount Adams Bar & Grill, continues through Feb. 28, with performances on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings.
