The Scourge NYC Reviews and Tickets

79%

(9 Reviews)

Positive

100%

Mixed

Negative

Members say

Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Ambitious, Profound, Resonant

About the Show

Irish Rep presents the U.S. premiere of Michelle Dooley Mahon’s autobiographical drama about witnessing her mother fall victim to Alzheimer’s disease.

From the show:

“Death by a thousand cuts” – that’s how Michelle Dooley Mahon describes Alzheimer’s disease after witnessing it strike down her mother Siobhan. As Mahon relives that time, her humorous and moving memories and rapier-like observations introduce personalities, history, and a nostalgic archive of an ordinary Irish small-town family forced to become extraordinary in their attempt to cope.

The Scourge takes audiences on a journey like no other, a beautiful dedication of a daughter giving voice to a mother sadly silenced before her time.

Member Reviews (9)

Bildungsroman, Unsophisticated staging, Heavy brogue, Absorbing, Slow

See it if you like one-person bio, filled w/humor, pathos, love. Wandering story (time/place), told in heavy accent. Requires constant attn.

Don't see it if you want polished, creative staging. Doll used as major prop. Movt in-out of cupboard. Freqt snippets of music. Not for me, but aud liked it

Intense, Thought-provoking, Profound, Absorbing

See it if If you want a play about a daughter taking care of her mother for 7 years. Resonant and real good at times.

Don't see it if Thick accent makes it difficult to here at times. If you want a lite humorous play.

Critic Reviews (4)

"When Daughter Becomes Mother in The Scourge: Michelle Dooley Mahon's solo play at Irish Rep recounts her experiences caring for her mother during her battle with Alzheimer's."
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"Mahon's voice seldom rises above a mezzo forte and she frequently delivers entire passages in a voice barely louder than a whisper. But she doesn't need volume to make her point. It's with her words that she heals herself and, by extension, she heals us too."
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"LIGHT AND DARK: Michelle Dooley Mahonshows a gift for painting evocative pictures with words in her worthwhile solo show."
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Score: 92% "The brutally honest self-observation, the wit, lilt, and poetry of her language is a draw that brings the audience into the over-stuffed wardrobe of Michelle and her experiences and lets the love that gets buried under the mess of life get exposed."
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