Crackskull Row

for a previous production "Grotesque but richly satisfying...Ms. Molloy enters the ring, exploring rage, dissolution, sexual perversity and family history with a bleak and penetrating acuity...The performers, directed by Kira Simring, are uniformly on point, with a grizzled Mr. Lane and a disheveled Ms. Donnelly especially fine...But it is Ms. Molloy’s salty, slangy yet singsong dialogue that most resonates." Full Review

for a previous production "Seldom as spooky as it wants to be…Molloy's playful language is really the star of the show. It verges on twee in its own bleak Irish way, but its musicality is truly enjoyable. Impressively, the four-person cast never flinches, making Molloy's whimsical poetry seem perfectly natural…Still, one gets the sense that the playwright is not as committed to tone as the design team…By the time the climax comes, it is too over-the-top to take seriously." Full Review

for a previous production "The text is beautifully constructed, but it asks for magic, and Kira Simring's un-beautiful production hasn't got much of a spell to cast. A great deal of the trouble is casting. Donnelly stays pert even in the face of black doom; Lane can't connect to the material at all. Happily, though, the younger pair was made to speak this stuff...Occasionally they have a scene together. You wait the whole show for these moments—only in them does Molloy's witchcraft do its work. Full Review

for a previous production "Molloy has little interest in providing the characters with the psychological underpinnings that might justify their actions—if, indeed, anything could; instead, she prefers to pile on the shockers. Kira Simring's direction can't supply what the play so sorely lacks; as a result, her blunt, straightforward staging is often borderline risible, especially during the overheated climax…Molloy reaches for Greek tragedy and ends up with something closer to an episode of 'Maury Povich.'" Full Review

for a previous production “Molloy’s language may occasionally prove as baffling as her plotting; written in a dense Dublin Irish patois filled with all sorts of colorfully imaginative expressions, it privileges atmosphere over clarity, sometimes sounding like Conor McPherson on a wee hours pub crawl...Judging by its vagueness the play might as easily have been called ‘Scratchskull Row;' still, bits and pieces of its dramatic detritus are definitely worth salvaging.” Full Review

for a previous production "Alternating between black comedy and emotional intensity, this wildly dysfunctional family drama is cleverly written, hypnotically presented and sensationally performed...Director Kira Simring’s superior staging theatrically presents the play’s complicated situations with clarity and surrealistic flourishes...'Crackskull Row's' lurid aspects successfully coexist with realism making it sometimes frightening and always entertaining." Full Review

for a previous production "This is a particularly unpleasant ghost story the playwright serves up, filled with images of blood and filth and Oedipal obsession that are difficult to shake off upon exiting the theater...Simring and the entire cast have thrown themselves completely into the creep-fest, and it certainly is a polished work...Molloy's play does contain elements of black humor, but she brings a unique blend of hyperrealism and psychological morass that takes 'Crackskull' to a whole new level of ickiness." Full Review

for a previous production "One gathers that this play was pulled from the bottom of playwright Honor Molloy’s trunk. It shows. This is not to say there isn’t excellent writing here or a compelling story, but rather that intermittent weeding and additional on-subject writing would make the piece immeasurably more successful…Both Donnelly and Lane inhabit their characters...Director Kira Simring does a splendid job of utilizing the set…Outbreaks are mostly kept to plausibility. Intimacy is beautifully depicted." Full Review

for a previous production "The dark and disturbing play by Honor Molloy walks in circles through the swamped woods of one’s mind, leaving us without the firm ground of reality until the end...‘Crackskull Row’ intertwines realism and myth, giving a homicide in Dublin the taste of a Greek tragedy. It’s a very heavy and painful story brilliantly worded by Honor Molloy and directed by Kira Simring." Full Review

for a previous production "Molloy puts a spell on words and rearranges them according to the rasp of her own rhythm. They are lyrical and symmetrical and pauses are necessary to soak them in. The excellent cast place their bets on the melody and they are all the more tuneful for it. Director Kira Simring leads from the language and guides lust and menace in the actions and breathing space." Full Review

for a previous production "Director Kira Simring clearly guided the cast in building a tight ensemble. Yet it is the moments when the tension spikes and the reality becomes blurred that the specificity wanes...The story and language of 'Crackskull Row' are exquisite, and the performances from the actors are lovely against a beautifully designed set. However, looking at the piece as a whole, it falls short of becoming triumphant by leaving the audience asking questions that detract from the play rather than enhance it." Full Review

for a previous production "In the world of theater that tackles taboo topics, 'Crackskull Row' has undeniably added its name to the list...One leaves the theater mystified. To be sure, the show was dark and unsettling. Its themes were off-putting—or disturbing—to say the least, but it certainly is not a 75-minute display of horror. 'Crackskull Row' certainly does give the curious mind a lot to work with." Full Review

for a previous production "There is much to admire about the production, including some fine performances...'Crackskull Row' often values dramatic potential over clarity, and while some climactic, intimate scenes are intensely dramatic, others fall into a spasmodic mode of meaningless activity. Save for a few rare scenes of sparkling chemistry, the production threatens to come away at the seams...Yet, the production is redeemed and revived by its flowing, narrative core, and the actors who bring it to life." Full Review

for a previous production "As Masher, Terry Donnelly is variously mother Ireland, the infernal Morrigan of Irish myth, the woman you run to and the woman you try to escape...I can’t think of the last time I’ve seen a female character given this much agency in an Irish play...Beautifully written and at all times absorbing because it understands the potency of the themes it has unleashed...Few Irish playwrights have dared to be this ambitious in years. 'Crackskull Row' blazes to life with an anguished and unsettling howl." Full Review

for a previous production "To watch this show, you must suspend wanting immediate gratification or clarity. All will be revealed in time. There is a powerful unsettling scene regarding mother-son incest and unexpected twists and turns. I recommend this play to anyone who appreciates good acting, writing and directing, and who is willing and strong enough to venture into an emotionally challenging place. This show is not for the sensitive or faint of heart but will leave a lasting impression." Full Review