Religion has been a hot topic around these parts for hundreds of years, but the aptly named Sinners by Marie Jones (Fly Me To The Moon) isn’t another tale of Catholics versus Protestants. You can’t tell from the name, or the poster for that matter, but Sinners is a brand new comedy about an American preacher who lands in a small Northern Irish village, brainwashing them with his confidence, charm, bright lights and theatrical sermons.
The theatre lights go down, a brightly lit curtain is the only thing seen on stage, and Pastor O’Hare struts out onto the stage catching everyone unawares with his loud American bravado. A flash of teeth, a perfectly tailored suit and his unrelenting charm are his weapons, and Michael Condron does an absolutely blinding job of creating the illusion that we are in the audience of an eclesiastical sermon, just itching to be saved.
Pastor O’Hare is handsome, charismatic and manipulative, and just like the audience, he has Tania Simpson’s (played by Seáinín Brennan) husband under his spell. Bringing a makeshift Church to the field outside their house, O’Hare’s sermons soon encourage the town to donate their hard earned cash to his cause, resulting in disruption as the rest of the Simpson clan see right through O’Hare’s plan.
Thanks to the simple yet effective set by Alyson Cummins, some great one liners and the inclusion of the hilarious choir scenes this is an entertaining story which takes a refreshing look at religion, however something falls a little short. The performances by Michael Condron as Pastor O’Hare, Louise Mathews as Coleen, Seáinín Brennan as Tania Simpson, Alan McKee as Sydney Simpson and Patrick McBrearty as Dino were spot on, however the rest of the cast seemed a little unecesary, offering charicatures of characters which resulted in little comedic effect.
Sinners runs at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre until 3rd June 2017, and for more information or to book tickets click here.
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