Cyprus Avenue NYC Reviews and Tickets

78%

(112 Reviews)

Positive

80%

Mixed

15%

Negative

Members say

Great acting, Intense, Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Edgy

About the Show

The Public presents the Abbey Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre's subversively funny and savage new play about one man trying to make sense of a radically changed world. Starring Oscar nominee Stephen Rea.

Eric Miller is a Belfast Unionist. He is exclusively and non-negotiably British. But nowadays he is worried he might be Irish. When Eric sees a likeness between his new-born granddaughter and the Irish republican leader, Gerry Adams, his sanity starts to unravel. Determined to defend his family and his heritage, Eric’s lifetime of ingrained prejudice and unsettled identity push him to the edge.

Member Reviews (112)

Violent, Dark, Unenlightening, Strong acting, Uneven tone

See it if you're interested in psychotic prejudice, played 1st for laughs, then bloody horror. Emotional whiplash. Absurdism uneasily mixed w realism.

Don't see it if you dislike ruthless violence, especially after humor. Therapy sessions seemed pointless, given the crimes. Strong acting; flawed script.

Uneven, Great acting, Poor character development, Disturbing

See it if you don't mind disturbing violence. that part is harsh but interesting.

Don't see it if you don't care about Irish political name dropping for 30 min with no effect on the rest of the play. All other characters are props. Read more

Disappointing, Intense, Uneven, Slow, Disturbing

See it if You like intense or disturbing shows. The first and last thirds of the play were good.

Don't see it if The drawn out 30min scene in the middle discusses Ireland politics, it's very boring, screeches the play to halt & it doesn't fully recover.

Riveting, Edgy, Profound, Relevant, Dark

See it if You want to see a dark...a very dark statement on what happens when we remain silent and do not call out hate for what it is when it occurs.

Don't see it if You can’t handle a violent stark look at the ugliest of truths about our society right now!

Bleak, Ambitious, Disappointing, Thought-provoking, Hollow

See it if to witness Rea's dynamic, committed tour-de-force in a subversive play that attempts to explain the origins of hate & how it begets violence

Don't see it if you aren't prepared for some ugly, grim, violent scenes; you expect more than a shallow morality play; you don't have the patience of Job. Read more

Out-martin mcdonaghs martin m. in portraying violence/dark humor; some will love that, others may find it too much

See it if uses absurdism & wickedly dark humor 2 illustrate issues of identity & extremism; brilliant volcanic/humorous performance by Stephen Rea

Don't see it if some will be perplexed by violence or find it gratuitous or won't like absurdist approach where unsure what's real/what's not Read more

Absorbing, Great acting, Riveting, Intense, Thought-provoking

See it if You love dark, Irish dramas or would love to see a brilliant turn by Stephen Rea.

Don't see it if You dislike plays by authors like Martin McDonagh, or hate intensely violent plays.

Absorbing, Funny, Great acting, Manipulative, Shocking

See it if Tour de force performance by Rhea about a story of bigotry and insanity - a dangerous combination.

Don't see it if The violence at the end of the play, which is visual, is extreme and beyond comprehension. I looked away but you know what is going on. Read more

Critic Reviews (39)

"Mr. Ireland’s analysis of the ambivalence in Eric’s identity crisis is often inspired. The use in 'Cyprus Avenue' of the sessions with the therapist — who speaks the language of political correctness — as a structural anchor feels like a safe and conventional choice. While the entire ensemble is very good, the play is at its most compelling when you feel you’re stuck inside Eric’s deluded mind...It’s Mr. Rea who puts us smack in the middle of one man’s tenacious, besieged, quivering sense of self."
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“A baffling waste of resources and time, Ireland’s failed black comedy stretches a single bad analogy into a numbing 100 minutes. Rea plays Eric, an Ulster Unionist...with anti-Catholic feeling...Eric spews great gouts of bigotry which is meant to shock us...and into seeing that such foulness is wrong...Racism can be like madness, but it’s not actually useful to pretend it’s the same thing as psychotic derangement—a distinction this repetitive, smug, underthought play blithely ignores.”
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"'Cyprus Avenue' is the sort of subversive piece designed to be both horrifying and funny. The play fulfills those aspirations to a degree, but too often at the expense of being alternately alienating and, strangely enough, boring...Still, the production is a must-see if only for the opportunity to watch Stephen Rea deliver a tour-de-force performance that almost, but not quite, compensates for the work's grueling aspects."
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"The easy step from bigotry and ideological entrenchments to outright madness gets a timely depiction...Neither Ireland nor Featherstone want merely to show what madmen do when tethers snap, but rather to suggest what causes the snapping in the first place...The cast is superb...Rea is the star of 'Cypress Avenue,' and chilling in the role, a man so convinced of his rightness that madness seems almost logical."
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"The sheer shock of the boundaries that Ireland and director Vicky Featherstone are willing to cross onstage coupled with the jolt of self-reflection, make 'Cyprus Avenue' a play that everyone should see, but one I wouldn't wish my worst enemy to sit through twice. It's one of the most unsettling experiences in a theater you're likely to have, but it's also one of the most cohesive articulations of the cultural civil war in which the world finds itself and the unfathomable cliffs we're speeding toward."
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"On the surface, the plot of 'Cyprus Avenue' is just a little too weird to take seriously, and that's one of the strengths of David Ireland's creepy drama, as director Vicky Featherstone seamlessly transitions the piece from cerebral exploration to dark comedy to a sickeningly violent ending...Featherstone uses the substance judiciously and symbolically, never allowing sensationalism to overshadow the horror of what is going on in Eric's mind."
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“A fine actor giving a tour-de-force performance in a play that goes irreparably off the rails...Ireland's play aims for Swiftian satire but settles for being a grim, exploitative cartoon, more interested in rattling the audience's nerves than in making any cogent psychological or political points...’Cyprus Avenue’ is rather like being buttonholed at a party by some loud, obnoxious drunk who won't shut up...One of the dreariest evenings that the Public has presented in a long, long time.”
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"A gut-wrenching presentation that starts out in the world of pitch black humor and rapidly descends into unchecked psychosis...If you can handle the pernicious content, you will surely find Rea's astonishing performance etched into your memory for a long time to come. Mr. Corrigan as Slim is nearly as powerful as Rea in depicting the unraveled mind of the unleashed soldier-of-war...If nothing else 'Cyprus Avenue' makes for a hell of a cautionary tale against unbridled xenophobia."
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