The Iconoclasts at C primo. Picture: Aenne Pallasca
The Iconoclasts continues at C primo until 28 August.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Wow, what a storm of a show! The Iconoclasts are an Irish family who were the subject of a reality television series – a troubled and broken family who have come together to commemorate Estelle: a much-loved sister and daughter who died at the age of 22.
But this is far from being a solemn occasion. The five-piece band play a blues/jazz vibe as the audience files in – a practical subversion of organ music playing in a church as the congregation arrive.
As the lights come up, the band is joined by three Iconoclasts singing alongside the charismatic bandleader, Sweet Stax (Thomas Parrish). Despite belting the song, the lyrics are difficult to decipher against the heavy bass level in the sound mix.
Danny (Billy Taylor) then launches into his stand-up routine with a political angle, theorising on the differences between the United Ireland’s aspirations and the United Kingdom’s realities. (“On the upside, the English flag is a great big plus.”)
Speeding through quips about the political landscape, he sings a version of a Shania Twain classic: ‘Man, I feel like a Brexit…’ On referendum issues, he observes that people take a side then demonise and victimise the other side.
Danny then introduces Katie Coen as Patricia Iconoclast – the matriarch with a voice that soars above Sweet Stax’s band. She then makes way for Alec (Alex Cosgriff). Dressed like a 21st century ringmaster in a sparkling red tailcoat, he performs top-speed magic tricks in a frenzied state that reaches breaking point.
Joined by the other Iconoclasts, the frenzy is replaced with a touching stillness as the four vocalise an exquisite lament. Just lovely.
The family disputes continue, now aimed specifically at John, the absentee father. Old issues clearly run deep – ‘Cromwellian’ is used as an adjective, giving the weight of history behind the bitterness.
Then John appears and, once again, expectations are turned on their head as a rather beautifully dressed John appears, in complete drag, sporting a blonde beehive ‘do’ in contrast to his dark beard.
The pace picks up again as John’s life story is rattled out like machine gunfire and takes us up to the point where he was serving in Northern Ireland in the military when he met and married Patricia. Tom Williams plays John brilliantly – it becomes very easy to accept every side to this man.
Using the exit and re-entry of a reviewer, the show brings itself back round to create a rousing finale. The metaphor of behaving differently when we are under scrutiny has been cleverly used here, with the audience colluding with the cast to build a rapturous ending to the show.
The music is driving and varied – composed and directed by Emily Compton, backed by a high-energy band.
Ben Price both wrote and directed the piece and is certainly worth watching out for in the future. Staging is clean, simple and effective – a great hour in the theatre.
Fiona Orr
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