Shining City Stays with Theatergoers

Epic Theatre Company’s Shining City takes place in Dublin, where John (Thomas Briody), a middle-aged businessman, pours his heart out to his therapist Ian (Jim Brown) about his wife Mary, who died in a horrific crash. John has been distraught and guilt-ridden since. He can’t sleep at night and sees Mary lurking in his house. Is she really there? Or is John hallucinating? Either way, the revelations John shares with Ian strike a chord. Realizing his own sense of emptiness, Ian seeks the services of a young hustler (Kevin Broccoli). Their solitary encounter is awkward yet poignant.

Ian, a former priest, faces further challenges, with a newborn child and a rapidly decaying marriage to Nessa (Melanie Stone) that has its own twists and turns.

Playwright Conor McPherson has crafted a look at the human longing for connection in a sometimes cruel world. Every character is hoping to find emotional fulfillment. “Happiness is not a fairy tale,” John tells Ian. “It’s ordinary.” But in the lives of these characters, it’s anything but.

Director Jeff Sullivan draws a magnetic performance from Briody, who convincingly portrays John’s inner anguish. Brown has the less showy role, but manages to convey Ian’s confusion and vulnerability in a way that’s convincing and sympathetic.

Shining City paints a dark portrait of fractured relationships and what happens when guilt dominates the human conscience. It is a searing drama and will leave you pondering your own feelings long after you leave the theater.

“Shining City” is being performed through Feb 28 at Theater 82, 82 Rolfe Square, Cranston. For tickets go to artists-exchange.org/epictheatrecompany.html or call 401.490.9475. EpicTheatreRI.org