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WILMINGTON, NC – It is remarkable to me, that as long as I have been reviewing theater in Wilmington, I have never seen a production staged in the North Front Theatre.
It’s an odd venue in a lot of ways, blending in with the rest of the buildings in the downtown area that it’s easy to miss. But if you decide to investigate and climb the stairs to the fifth floor you will find a delightfully impossible theater space. Ornate yet intimate with a sense of history and age, the kind of venue that the right production can command, and an audience can be truly swept away.
It is the perfect venue for Sihr Theatre, and their staging of Conor McPherson‘s play Shining City.
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I have been excited to see what Sihr Theatre could do since I first started seeing their advertising in 2023. I admire their goals to carve out a space for marginalized voices in the theatre scene and focus on material dealing with the fantastical or magical. And with these goals in mind, Shining City is certainly fertile soil to cultivate. Set in contemporary Dublin, the play, which runs at an economical ninety minutes, is structured as a series of therapy sessions between John (Brendan Carter) and his therapist Ian (Tony-Elias Choufani, who co-directs the play with Brandi Simmons). Interspersed between the sessions where John discusses the recent death of his wife, their marriage’s deterioration, and seeing her ghost, are scenes from Ian’s personal life as he grapples with his drive to sabotage his own relationships. The play is built around relationships, specifically the perils of living with dysfunction and the lengths we go in pursuit of intimacy. It’s painfully relatable material and McPherson’s script feels as natural as it is meticulous. Not only are the words of dialogue carefully chosen, but McPherson is extremely careful in how he controls and directs tone and mood. This is what I mean when I describe Shining City as fertile ground, the script has much potential for a truly great play.
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I am happy to report that the Sihr company cultivated that fertile soil masterfully. Behind the scenes, there is a unified vision for this production, a naturalist, contemporary aesthetic which fed a sense that the world is genuinely lived in. From EC Cobb-Curtis’ unobtrusive sound design, the realism of the characters’ dialects, Riley Fowler’s set design, and through the technical side of the production. And with a play as dialogue heavy as this one, it’s important to nail the casting. Maya Noor as Neasa and Reilly Callaghan as Laurence each only get one scene but they’re so good that you’re left wanting more. Choufani masterfully pulls off the range required to play Ian. During the scenes where he was in session with John, he listened attentively, watching and evaluating John during their sessions. His manner during the sessions was so calm and observational that it was even more jarring to we see him out of his professional context, forced to deal with the reality of who he is.
Photo credit: Rosewood Photography
But Shining City‘s driving force is its protagonist. Most of the play is John talking in therapy and, in the hands of the wrong actor, this would be nothing short of a disaster.
In the hands of Brendan Carter, the role is a miracle. Carter knows how to tell a good story. He is a master of tone and nuance. I would say that you could close your eyes and just listen to him, but you’d rob yourself of Carter’s incredible physicality. The play was masterfully and intentionally staged as Carter moved nervously throughout the space, carrying a lot of tension in his body. Tension that was slowly released as the play went on and John shared more of his demons with Ian, so by the time the play ended, it felt like the audience was sharing in John’s relief.
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Sihr Theater’s production of Shining City is a must-see, an intimate theatrical experience that hooks your attention and never let’s go. There is a delightful harmony of purpose among the cast and crew that hints at strong leadership, which bodes very well for the future.
Shining City continues through September 1 at the North Front Theatre.
