Right before intermission, right when Lucifer himself—dressed
smartly, of course—has trapped our alcoholic antihero into
playing a card game for his soul, “The Wild Cats of Kilkenny,” a
lively instrumental by the Pogues, rips over the loudspeakers. It’s the
perfect song for this Irish play. The Seafarer, like the Pogues,
is relentlessly contemporary but steeped in old mythology. It’s also
poetic, melancholy, and swollen with booze. The characters,
excepting Lucifer, are all drunks in a filthy living room on Christmas
Eve. Their hearts are battlegrounds where bitterness fights with
reckless optimism. But when Richard—old, blind,
reeking—calls Lucifer “one maudlin fucker,” we know which
side will win. (Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St, 443-2222.
2 pm, $15–$55. Through March 28.)
Brend an Kiley has worked as a child actor in New Orleans, as a member of the junior press corps at the 1988 Republican National Convention, and, for one happy April, as a bootlegger’s assistant in Nicaragua.... More by Brendan Kiley
This show was AMAZING. It was my first theater experience in many years and it will have me coming back for more — hopefully, not too disappointed, as this ‘gateway’ performance was devastating and delightful. Bravo!