The subdued style adopted by director Ali Robertson for the Nunkie Theatre Company's production of Oleanna at the Granary has its dangers - and its rewards.
Sifted of its potential hysteria, David Mamet's script is revealed as rooted, its anger deep-seated as well as opportunistic. A well-meaning college professor on the verge of the academic security implied by tenure is challenged by a student who is focused on issues of undergraduate and female empowerment; their destructive debate encompasses the purpose of education and highlights the tyranny of the teacher over the taught.
The brave duo of Gary Murphy and Siobhan Ni Shuibhne tackle the fractured and interwoven patterns of the argument with enough skill to command total attention when it matters most; that's their reward.
The danger, which is not avoided here, is that the deliberate absence of theatricality prohibits pace and provokes irritation with the play itself: while the telephone is a crucial plot device, for example, its omnipresence defeats any hope of sympathy for the professor, who never, even at the most crucial meeting of his career, disconnects it.
Concludes tomorrow. To book, phone: 021-904275.