Dublin Theatre Festival 2024: Breaking

Breaking by Amy Kidd. Image by Publicis Dublin

***

If asked to suggest the source materials for Amy Kidd’s debut play Breaking, your likely answer would be the movies Gaslight and Groundhog Day, and Harold Pinter's play Betrayal. Kidd's twenty something couple in an abusive relationship also evoking a myriad of TV relationships. TV reflected in Kidd’s scene structure and Alyson Cummins set design. A living room where half sketched characters play out scenes of control and abuse to a predictable outcome, even as the outcome isn’t always convincing. Sam and Charlie negotiating violence, manipulation, gaslighting all made manifest as the story goes nowhere. Fizzling out midway. Leaving the feeling that, theatrically at least, those most likely being gaslit are the audience.

Eavan Gaffney, Curtis-Lee Ashqar, Matthew Malone and Jeanne Nicole Ní Áinle in Fishamble's Breaking. Image Anthony Woods.

A study of control and abuse, Breaking offers a series of shallow scenes with some strong emotional punches wedged between two theatrical gimmicks. The first, a flip midway to facilitate a mirrored retelling with events told backwards, adding little of worth and making for a gruelling second half. The second, two characters played by four cast members alternating roles. The latter proving more successful; Kidd cleverly highlighting that control and abuse recognise neither race, gender, nor sexuality. Yet the visual distractions are not enough to compensate for endless bouts of verbal tennis. As the flip occurs midway and the relationship is relived, what follows looks like student scene studies or audition call backs. In which a competent cast hold their own, particularly playing the villainous Charlie. Villains always having the best lines, and Charlie has a lot of them; relentlessly bombarding Sam to the point of surrender. The victim Sam looking less fleshed out. Curtis-Lee Ashqar, Matthew Malone and Jeanne Nicole Ní Áinle all turning in invested performances, especially as Charlie. Only Eavan Gaffney manages to make both characters fully credible, relying on detailed subtextual analysis for articulating her abuse victim’s response. Something Kidd’s energetic script never really gets to grips with.

Eavan Gaffney in Breaking. Photo Anthony Woods

In the hands of a lesser director, Kidd's characters could well be reduced to generalised abstractions. Jim Culleton ensuring pace ticks along nicely and performances yield up powerful moments, even as not all pairings are equally successful. Marxists would have a field day exploring the parasitic poor abuser feeding off the successful, middle class worker, even as we never really get to understand why either is as they are. Kidd’s labour of love revealing its truths only in glimpses. And mostly through Gaffney. A star in the making turning in a superlative performance.

Breaking by Amy Kidd, directed by Jim Culleton and presented by Fishamble: The New Play Company, runs at Draíocht Blanchardstown as part of Dublin Theatre Festival 2024 until October 5.

For more information visit Dublin Theatre Festival 2024 or Draíocht Blanchardstown