The 2020 iteration of Young Critics, has like most events globally, been deeply affected by the COVID19 pandemic.

Ordinarily, our Young Critics would have met up for the first time over the Easter holidays, been introduced to each other and the art of criticism and seen some amazing shows together. Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen, as Ireland, like most countries worldwide, is under lockdown.

In an effort to share the Young Critics experience with our readers we are running a selection of their initial reviews.

These reviews were submitted as part of their Young Critics application. As such, they represent the first steps on their Young Critics journey. We hope you enjoy them.

Irene Kelleher in Gone Full Havisham

Our next review comes from Emma Corrigan. She is a member of Monaghan Youth Theatre. and was lucky to catch Gone Full Havisham by Irene Kelleher at the Garage Theatre, Monaghan back in February.

Irene Kelleher plays “one tough little nut” Emily in Regina Crowley’s eye-opening Gone Full Havisham, shown in the Garage Theatre Monaghan, based on Dickens’ renowned novel.

The startling yet memorable performance left little to the imagination and the audience in complete shock from entering the theatre where Kelleher, the ex-bride lay in a state of lunacy until the end where Kelleher walks off-stage for the first time leaving an emotional and confused audience behind, metaphorically leaving her past life behind. As the story moves along Emily describes to us the trials and tribulations of her childhood it becomes coherent how inevitable it was that Emily would eventually lose the plot.

The piece written, exquisitely by Kelleher herself strategically displays the series of tragic events leading up to Emily’s ultimate downfall into mental turmoil. Although the hour-long play left me unsatisfied with the lack of conclusion and plenty of room for deeper character development. What did Emily and the audience gain from this experience?

Irene Kelleher in Gone Full Havisham

The one-women show was pulled with style, to the extent where it felt as if there was a large cast on stage at times. The focus was on Emily for the entirety of the play. The directorial instruction to keep Kelleher centre stage was successful and had a long-lasting, profound effect on her performance, aiding my favourite climactic moment where Emily breaks all socially acceptable boundaries screaming “GET OUT!”. This worked because this moment was completely different compared to the rest of the play in terms of lighting, sound and facial expressions.

One aspect of production that stood out to me was the visual and lighting effects. The fact that Kelleher managed to take a classical, dated story and completely modernise it without ruining the plot is an art in itself. Lighting by Paul Denby and video and sound design by Cormac O’Connor really brought the production to a whole and more appealing level.

Kelleher and Crowley’s intimate bond is shown through her dignified facial expressions, body language and consistency throughout her long-lasting monologue.

It isn’t often that I would recommend a play this highly but the enthralling, captivating performance and plot opens a new world of emotions and underlying twists with each viewing.

Emma Corrigan is a member of Monaghan Youth Theatre and a Youth Theatre Ireland Young Critic for 2020

Emma Corrigan has been a member of Monaghan Youth Theatre for nearly 4 years. During this time, she has played a part in plays such as “The Patriot Game”, “Dear Chuck” and “Thirteen”. She particularly enjoys workshops based around devising and improvisation. Emma is a keen writer who looks forward to seeing and discussing shows alongside people like her looking to learn the art of theatre criticism.