QR Theatre Review: Grief is the thing with Feathers

Grief is the thing with feathers is stage adaptation of Max Porter’s 2007 novel of the same name. The play starring Cillian Murphy ran in Dublin’s O’Reilly theatre and Galway’s Black Box in Galway last month.

The play is the latest collaboration between playwright Enda Walsh and Cillian Murphy. As with previous Walsh plays there is a distinct focus on characters coping with grief. Porter’s story follows a father of two boys simply known as Dad (Murphy) who struggles with the recent death of his wife and how a creature known as Crow intervenes in the family’s life. Crow is a strange ethereal figure somewhere between a coping mechanism and a supernatural force acting as the family’s guardian angel. The play nor the book ever explicitly state Crow’s origin and this is core to the appeal of the play.

Grief and Trauma play out in different ways for different people, Walsh’s earlier play The Walworth Farce explored how these emotions can warp the reality and memory. Grief is the thing with Feathers examines the mental state of Murphy’s character and how he struggles alone to raise his young sons, re-integrate into his work, writing a book on his hero Ted Hughes and ultimately move on. Enter Crow, an alter-ego of sorts Murphy’s character slips into for portions of the performance at key moments, attempting to guide the family through this unbearable grief and acting as a conduit of sorts for certain repressed aspects of Dad’s grief, specifically his frustration and anger. 

Given other hi-tech aspects of the performance there may have been a temptation to introduce puppetry or some other tricks to the Crow character. The simplistic use of voice modulator and change to Murphy’s tone and movement keeps the performance focused specifically on the mental struggle of Dad and his sons in the face of the insurmountable trauma.

The entire play is set in the family’s London flat although the imagery conjured by Crow throughout takes the audience far beyond there. Porter’s novel is praised for its poetic and experimental use of language throughout the book. Much of these fascinating monologues are incorporated into the play’s most entrancing scenes and as a whole Porter’s harsh poetry translates to the stage fairly well. Although, some of the emotional impact of Porter’s language is lost in translation due to some of the techniques used in these scenes. Some of the more intense monologues may have benefitted from a less is more approach.

That is not to say the unique techniques the play employs does not succeed. Some interesting techniques are employed in staging and in particular to highlight some of Crow’s more intense monologues. Imagery and language is regularly largely projected on the rear walls of the stage. These include the sketches Dad makes of Crow, nostalgic videos of the deceased mother and the language of Crow in some key moments. This creates some amazing scenes as the harsh black lettering of Crow’s words blots out the white of the stage walls. 

The play as with porter’s novel is divided into three distinct parts and the title of each part is scratched into the walls using these same techniques. Some readers may fear techniques like this could overshadow a performance, especially given the play is mostly Murphy alone – instead Murphy works with the imagery and language incorporating into his performance and Dad’s overwhelming grief. 

As a whole, Murphy’s performance is powerful and touching and Dad, while also coming across as suitably uncertain and volatile as Crow. Murphy’s performance of Dad alone is worthy of praise but his seamlessly jumping between two vastly different roles only enhances his fantastic performance. This is not to say Murphy’s young co-stars (Evans & Warren) playing the two sons are undeserving of praise. Both boy’s provide an emotional heart to the play for us to understand Dad’s grief. The two young actors also provide some much needed comedic relief toward the end.

Many people will be drawn to this play due to the star power of its lead – but it is so much more than a celebrity attraction. Murphy & Walsh clearly love working together and it shows in this masterfully crafted script and performance which perfectly translates the heart of Porter’s novel to the stage. The play explores themes of grief and trauma more effectively than any other form of fiction I have experienced and culminates with some truly touching human moments, in particular a story of Dad’s meeting his hero, Hughes which perfectly encapsulates the message of this story, the Crow and the story’s outlook on grief. I would recommend anyone to see this play if given the chance – some may find it a bit strange, especially in the midst of some of Crow’s more extravagant monologues but if you are willing to invest and stick with it you will be thoroughly rewarded.

5/5 Stars

This review is based on the 30th March 2018 performance at the O'reilly Theatre in Dublin.

By Sean Hughes