"Murfi’s solo show, which he also scripted, follows a few hours in the life of the full-time cobbler, occasional farmer, and all-around stand-up guy Pat Farnon...The play is sentimental and as Irish as a Guinness garnished with a shamrock. But the words provide a welcome excuse for Mr. Murfi’s astonishing acting. In a scene in which three characters spoke at once, I could see all of them differently and distinctly...This is a high-top performance."
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"All Mikel Murfi has to do is walk on stage and the audience is captivated...Every movement has a purpose, and yet his performance never feels artificial or hammy. Not only do these characters come to life with ease, but they are instantly familiar as well...Philosophical without force-feeding any overarching theme or subtext...It is the humour and sweet earnestness that makes the piece not only entertaining, but also thought-provoking."
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"Murfi is a special case, a masterful storyteller who can enthral with nothing more at his disposal than a few assorted shoes...A delight to watch, Murfi has a rare ability to switch between voices and mannerisms at speed while keeping several characters distinct as they chatter, interrupt, and occasionally throw shoes at one another...By turns silly, surreal and sentimental, this is an ambling and somewhat aimless tale – it is the warmth and skill of the telling which makes it so enjoyable."
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"Murfi’s 75-minute one-man show is unashamedly nostalgic and sentimental...However, his physical versatility, ear for idiosyncratic, often poetic turns of phrase, and storyteller’s effortless command mightily impresses. Pat is intelligent, humorous, and articulate...Murfi is an astute observer of the region’s intersecting superstition and earthy common sense...It’s a persuasive argument for not overlooking those society pushes to the margins. A real gem."
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"A one-man menagerie; Noah's Ark in human form. At the start of his self-penned solo show, he lends his voice to a whole barnyard...Murfi's a chameleon, capable of shapeshifting in a split-second or holding a three-way conversation with himself...But his performance – indeed, his whole play – does feel like a virtuosic turn, the sort of tour de force that steamrolls everything around it. He's so clamorous that you overlook writing that's heavy with blather and thick with sentiment."
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“Spot-on vocal ‘portrayals’ of birds, pigs, cows, and a Christmas turkey...Formerly a student at the famed École Jacques Lecoq in Paris, Murfi has the superior vocal and mimetic skills required to portray whatever he sets his mind on. But aside from technical facility—Murfi can go from a deep baritone to high falsetto when required—there is the heart and soul of an Irishman portraying some of his countrymen and women and their place in their world."
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"Murfi’s one-man play is surely the first drama ever to bring to the stage a pitch-perfect representation of a dying turkey...It is a work of great charm and affection for rural Ireland and its people, performed with astonishing versatility by Murfi, who has the burly physique of a farmer, but embodies everything from a bee to Kitsey Rainey - the ferocious football coach with a heart of marshmallow - with a supple energy that is entirely captivating."
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"What's beautiful about this play is its honesty. There are no gimmicks—it's a heartfelt performance about real, ordinary, simple folk doing everyday, mundane tasks. The drama comes within Murfi's writing and his use of the Irish language, its pace, tone and deep understanding of how ordinary people use it...He makes the simplest of conversations and deepest of thoughts fold seamlessly into one another in this slick and powerful performance."
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