The Party

For Anu’s production of The Party, Bewleys upstairs has morphed into a sophisticated drawing room, with elegant furniture, pretty lighting and even a piano. It’s the backdrop for this absorbing, pitch-perfect adaptation of Chekhov’s short story, finely wrought by Caitriona Ni Mhurchu and Sophie Motley and brought to life in Motley’s accomplished production. Moving beyond the confines of the stage, Ni Mhurchu embodies the role of Olya, heavily pregnant, weary and overwhelmed by the heat and noise of her husband’s birthday party as she recalls the events of that momentous day. The shallowness of the guests, her handsome husband flirting with a pretty young girl, her own complicit hypocrisy, the hints of darkness beneath the surface, she portrays it all with an unflinching candour, by turn passionate and languid. And in true Chekhovian style, it ends not with a bang but with a whimper. Til Sat 20 Feb @lunchtime www.bewleyscafetheatre.com