Eugene O’Neill’s expressionistic 1922 play The Hairy Ape opened in a new revival at the Irish Repertory Theatre, directed by Ciarán O’Reilly and starring Jon Beavers as the brash stoker Yank. Timeout.com reviewer Sandy MacDonald gave the production a “not recommended” rating, pointing to indulgent sololiqouies and uneven pacing despite spirited performances.
The Production at a Glance
- Jon Beavers leads the cast as Yank, capturing the character’s boisterous pride and subsequent humiliation with physical vigor.
- Director Ciarán O’Reilly handles the classic text at the Irish Rep’s intimate mainstage, utilizing expressionistic design elements.
- Hassiem Muhammad offered a more favorable view of the staging, highlighting its relevance to contemporary anxieties over class and industrial speed.
Jon Beavers Brings Vigor to the Role of Yank
The brutish ocean-liner stoker known as Yank propels O’Neill’s narrative by shoveling coal into the belly of a transatlantic vessel. Timeout.com noted that Jon Beavers hits the role’s two main extremes—aggressively boastful and aggrieved—with admirable vigor. Impressively built, Beavers morphs easily from a braggadocious grunt to a humiliated would-be social activist ranting about his place in the engines.
Hassiem Muhammad added that Yank’s speed and identity are tied directly to propelling the mass of steel across the Atlantic at 25 knots an hour. Yank believes he belongs because the ship cannot run without him. That certainty fractures when a passing debutante witnesses him in the boiler room.
Class Conflict on the Irish Rep Stage
Rebel debutante Mildred, played by Elizabeth Teeter, arranges a slumming expedition to the lower depths alongside her chaperone, played by Joanna Glushak, as reported by Timeout.com. Upon seeing the stokers shoveling coal in choreographed lockstep, Mildred whimpers “Oh, the filthy beast!” and swoons. Hassiem Muhammad described Teeter as looking like a dead flapper while behaving like Bravo’s latest sociopath, which triggers Yank’s fierce quest for revenge and belonging.
Set designer Charlie Corcoran adapted the Irish Rep’s tiny mainstage to accommodate distinct settings, including storefront windows representing Saks Fifth Avenue. Hassiem Muhammad highlighted how Corcoran’s metal box set, featuring an upper platform that rises and falls, suggests a cage from the beginning. Lighting designer Michael Gottlieb and sound designers Florian Staab and Ryan Rumery worked alongside movement director Barry McNabb to shape the transitions between scenes.
Cast Performances Across the Revival
Timeout.com noted that company stalwart John Keating delivers a resplendent early moment as Yank’s fellow crewman Paddy, rhapsodizing about the joys of working as a deckhand on old clippers. Hassiem Muhammad praised Keating's delivery of Paddy's elegy of a sailor’s life, noting that Rumery's sound design effectively supports the performance.
Other supporting players include Ariyan Kassam as a grounded socialist shipmate and Adam Petherbridge as a measured functionary at the International Workers of the World headquarters. While Timeout.com concluded that the production marches rather dully to its foreshadowed conclusion through O’Neill’s long soliloquies, Hassiem Muhammad found the revival to be a powerful look at an ongoing tragedy where the world spins faster and audiences hang on for dear life.
| Production Element | Creative Team / Cast | Role / Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Director | Ciarán O’Reilly | Staging the 1922 expressionist revival at Irish Rep |
| Lead Actor | Jon Beavers | Portraying the stoker Yank |
| Supporting Cast | John Keating | Playing the crewman Paddy |
| Set Design | Charlie Corcoran | Adapting the intimate mainstage with a rising metal box |
Century-Old Themes in Modern Times
Timeout.com observed that the passage of more than a century has not greatly improved the work’s luster, even as the class gap grows ever wider and the Irish Rep works to keep the play in the forefront. Reviewer Sandy MacDonald drew comparisons to Bobby Cannavale leading a lavish Old Vic import of the same play at the Park Avenue Armory in 2017.
Conversely, Hassiem Muhammad emphasized that O’Reilly and company successfully demonstrated how O’Neill’s 1922 comedy of ancient and modern life serves as an ongoing tragedy for modern audiences living in an increasingly fast-paced world.
