Play: Juno and the Paycock

I was delighted to see a new production of Sean O'Casey's Dublin set play Juno and the Paycock, starring Mark Rylance and J Smith-Cameron. I had seen Mark on stage in London 14 years ago, but had yet to see J on stage, so this was in some sense serendipitous.

Set during the midst of the Irish Civil War of 1922, the play focusses on a struggling family of four, The Boyles. It begins with much dialogue exchanged between The Boyles, establishing characters and their family dynamic. Juno appears to be the stand in household patriarch for her drunk of a husband Jack, an all round good-for-nothing who uses every excuse he can find to avoid work, whilst son Johnny adjusts to life having lost his arm in conflict and daughter Mary is on strike.

Neighbours and acquaintances are spoken of, usually gossipingly and those Jack especially is keen to avoid, having relied upon them for loans and favours, but who also might expose his visits to the pub he tries to keep hidden from Juno.

Close to complete ruin, The Boyles receive a visit from a solicitor who reveals to Jack that he is to be the recipient of a surprise inheritance. A welcome revelation indeed to pull them out of destitution and to further stave off Jack having to find employment.

Yet soon it will become clear this escape from turmoil won't be all it seems. With the many promises Jack has made without having seen the money first, he'll soon accumulate plenty of enemies.

With the backdrop of war, the doomful prophecy by a visiting neighbour mourning her son who was killed in combat and a family falling apart, there is always a looming sense of foreboding. When good fortune does come knocking, something tells you such fortuition can't possibly come good.

The tragedies of war, destruction of people and places, is only too relevant today and so it is fitting that Juno and the Paycock is being revived.

Despite remaining calm in the face of adversity, Juno's frustration with her husband and anxiety over their situation shows. This further supports the ideal casting of J Smith-Cameron, an actress who is no stranger to playing tough, no nonsense women, but who can also effortlessly display warmth and poignancy.

Though Juno's loyalty remains with her husband, despite his lack of appealing qualities, any affection expressed towards him suggests she is merely tolerating him to get the family through escaping poverty. For so long she hasn't taken a stand against this drunken layabout and left him for good, but she is defiant about doing what is necessary and unlike Jack she won't give up on her family.

Mark Rylance also has a balancing act. His character by all accounts is loathsome, yet being assigned much of the comedic material, he is taken (for the most part) as foolishly charming. Yet drunken mishaps and mistakes can only be tolerated for so long, which makes the trajectory of the character's arc, the play's tone and the story's end all the more tragic.

Juno and Jack represent both sides of this tragicomedy, with Jack as a family annihilator of sorts, intent on sabotaging their lives and his own. One of the main themes of the play is that the actual patriarch of the family won't sober up and lift a finger to support them like they need him to. Mary and Johnny for the most part are loved, cared for and protected, but despite Juno's unwavering support, with a father who is mostly checked out, their fate might be attributed to this neglect. Yet whilst he might be considered a cowardly, failure of a man, the enduring disruption, chaos and existentialism of war may have piled on enough to diminish him to losing all hope.

Set design can allow for the required movement of actors, transitions, enhancing themes, or can itself be a character. In reflecting life at the time, the conversion of Georgian homes (once occupied then abandoned by wealthy residents) into cheap flats, shows the transformation of the Boyle's (supposed impending) fortune. Though little transition occurs with the staging, it flows with the progression of the storyline. Despite the change from drab to luxury, even with all the polished furniture the Boyle's (think they) can afford, the cracks and the damage can't be concealed. The staging makes it all the more clear things may not end well and, as this play overall connotes, the audience are confronted with a terrifying, existential realisation that in life, whether you work hard like Juno, or you receive a bout of luck like Jack, there isn't always a happy ending.

For all the tragedy though, this is also a comedy. A recurring reference to an obsession with tea highlights the small delights many turn to as a soothing tonic in troubled times. Jack's inebriation can also fuel plenty of lighter moments, from feigning a leg injury, to kicking an acquaintance out by forcing them to ludicrously glide through an open window. Additionally, the big personality of neighbour Maisy Madigan, played delightfully by Anne Healy, provides a great deal of comic relief.

Juno and the Paycock reminds us of the importance of family and community, but doesn't sugar coat the reality of living through war and hard times. When the time comes for debts to be collected, friends turn when desperate and comrades become enemies. Though it is entertaining and comedic, it also stresses the damage and detriment of life’s trials forced upon civilians, whether it be their home, their body, or their mind.