Marina Carr's "Ariel" was perhaps the most disturbing piece of theatre that I have ever seen. This does not mean that I was disappointed with the performance of the actors, the way the set was designed, or the tragedy-based writing. The combination of all three elements resulted in an overall depressing yet sometimes-comical theatrical show.
             The set by Frank Conway was starkly designed; a simple wooden floor graduated towards the back with two entrances on opposite sides of the stage. These entrances looked almost like emergency exits positioned halfway up brick walls with metallic steps. The center stage was composed of a dining room table set up for a birthday party (cake, etc.) with a chandelier hanging directly above. Throughout the play, the set altered little but the atmosphere changed often which gave the impression of different locations.
             The play is named Ariel yet the character herself is not seen very often throughout the show. The daughter of Fermoy Fitzgerald a rich ambitious businessman who plans to become a politician, Ariel has just celebrated her sixteenth birthday and mysteriously goes missing. Fermoy has made his money from the cement business but has ambitions to become the next Taoiseach. His ambition we see (as the play skips on ten years) is about to be realized but not without an underlying uneasy feeling surrounding the disappearance of his daughter.
             Marina Carr's play is loosely based around Euripides'"Iphigenia". As with all Greek tragedies, blood is shed and it makes no difference how closely related to the person you are; if you find a problem with them then it's time for them to go. The killings were quite believable at first but by the time the denouement of the play commenced, I felt we had seen a little too much blood and the murders became almost farcical.
             Memorable performances came from Mark Lambert as Fermoy and Barry McGovern's wonderful portrayal of a whiskey-loving Irish Monk ...