An old man with age lines shadowing the contours of his face, stands against what appears to be a kindergarten painted backdrop indicating the expansive Irish countryside. The distant look within his eyes help transform the audience to a fixed place and time where young men walk with determination on to a fresh field of grass in rugby jerseys to play a championship game over and over for all eternity.
The setting of the play is both humble and minimalist much like the protagonist himself. The design work indirectly asks the audience to stretch their imaginations within the walls of the intimate New Theater to piece together a world, a pastiche of memories, which surround the history shared by the old man, Philly. Amongst the sparse greenery on the small stage is a large rusted milk container which functions as the poor mans seat within his forum of memory. A worn portion of a rugby goal dominates stage left with a rusted chain precariously wrapped around the neck of the goal, informing the viewers to the reason behind the title. The eroding field is actually the rugby ‘pitch’ and original site of the series of events that will continue to incessantly haunt and re-circulate in Philly’s mind.
The Pitch was both written by, and starring Irish actor Shane Connaughton. His career as writer has been most notably marked by his nomination for best screenplay in 1989 for his work on the film, My Left Foot. Connaughton’s ability as an actor on the stage is undeniable. He charms the hearts of people in their seats with his grouchy moments and humorous anecdotes as he relives his past through telling the supporting characters about instances in his life particularly his loss in a rugby championship that took place on that very green and how he connects it the hardship and trajectory of his life as a country man in Ireland. The first act simply heartwarming and will force a decent amount of chuckles out of anyone due to Connaughton’s excellent characterization of the part. His fidgeting with his clothing in combination with the physicalization of the characters ailments helped create the illusion of a man that had lived on the fringe of Irish society for the past few decades. Throughout the show, he provides a youthful twinkle in his blue eyes, displaying a unique vibrancy during each one of his speeches.
Philly’s old age is further highlighted by his juxtaposition and cantankerous interaction with supporting character Penny. The spunky yet seemingly immature twenty something character intrudes onto Philly’s property in what becomes a very complicated web of objectives as she assists her uncle Ronny, the money grubbing relative of Philly’s former enemies who is attempting to con Philly out of his families land. At the age of 71, Connaughton had a strong sense of control and awareness of his body that would be truly impressive for a performer at any age. I suspect that his ability to create a fully developed character was only furthered by his involvement in the play’s genesis being the original writer himself. Whether the play informs the audience with past of events inspired by Connaughton’s true life remains highly unclear, yet the use of sincere emotion helps dictate the potency of every action on stage: with his use of his cane to point out the landmarks of his property as he speaks reminiscently, meanwhile walking around stage with a potentially deadly injury on his foot that requires his character to be in an out of pain.
Shane Connaughton’s performance is so strong, independent and riddled with nuance that it is almost difficult to remember it as being much other than a “one man show”. However, the two other characters seem to provide a means for helping Philly’s character transition from one past event to the next. Although, Penny, the trendy fervent girl serves as both a comedic counterpart in the first act as well as a source for plot development in the second act, her character lacked the luster to truly astonish. To sympathize with her, the play consisted mostly of Philly’s detailed monologues leaving her little room to speak. The character creates a comic counterpart to Philly that helps soften our hearts, yet her emotional scenes did not seem very memorable, but rather forced. As the young girl who arrives in the pitch in the opening scene Penny (Fiona Fitzpatrick) was a bit overwhelming at times with her dramatic facial expressions, however, I am not sure if that was an attempt to heighten the difference between her generation in comparison to that of Philly? Or if it was simply reflected the character as it was intended to be performed? Despite some of what appeared to be a bit of over the top especially in the second act, Fitzpatrick did fair well with the challenge of participating in a play that required her to be ever present onstage and maintaining an inner monologue for the length of the entire show. Her performance is commendable seeing as she accompanied two older male characters whom both veterans of their craft such as Connaughton himself.
After walking out of the play I had the overwhelming suspicion that I had seen this play before in one form or another. There was a familiarity in the multiple overriding themes within the plot of the play for example the use of the supernatural (Philly mentions he has a healing power that has the potential to save others) that in retrospect deserved far more attention within the story’s development. Also the themes of man and the natural world, betrayal, and versions of reality that are all themes mentioned in Shakespeare’s last play The Tempest. Both of these plays have several parallels throughout the evolution of these plotlines, both protagonists (Philly in The Pitch, and Propero in The Tempest) were men who lived with the isolation of living in nature of which resulted in their seclusion from the rest of the society and the world in both a literal and metaphorical sense. These two male characters also possessed supernatural or mystical abilities that assisted them yet could not fully solve their obstacles within their worlds. Each of them also, dealt with issues of being betrayed by those around them from their past and having to forgive in order to continue a sense of peace in their spirit and rid themselves of crippling animosity. In many ways the character of Penny (The Pitch) also had several similarities to Miranda (daughter of Prospero in The Tempest) both were the only girls that were forced to have most of their fate destined by the choices of the men around them, also both these characters did not receive much attention, depth or character development throughout the plays in comparison to the male protagonists, but rather served a bit more as fixtures. Finally, the idea of “versions of reality” and how it is so crucial to an individual that they remember the distinct turning points in their life. Each memory is created from a series of details that will differ from the next person thus perpetuating its own reality.
The play proposes the idea or universal theme that our memories woven together provide our identities, our reasons behind the unconventional actions or choices made. Overall, I had found it interestingly appropriate that all these connections to The Tempest were made whether it was intentional or not. I think it quite possible that these allusions to Shakespeare may have been intentional to some degree, however, I feel as though these are ubiquitous themes found in a lifetime of experience. The aspect of the show that continued to capture my show was the combination unwavering commitment by Connaughton, as well as a small glimpse into the some of the Irish characteristics of this show especially the man’s connection to his heritage and land. The show in its entirety lacked a bit of focused and was overwhelmed by a multitude of interesting themes that should have all been elaborated far more in depth. Parts of the plot lacked focus because I felt that this may be one of Connaughton’s last plays, so much like Shakespeare, he began combining every theme into one production in an effort to voice as much of his unfinished business from other projects as possible. Most of all I enjoyed Connaughton’s abilities as an actor, his commitment to the role alone is worth seeing.
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