Review: ST NICHOLAS at Quotidian Theatre Company

The premiere of St Nicholas (1997) is my second visit to Quotidian Theatre Company (QTC) and, by happy accident, my second Conor McPherson play.

Rarely staged, St Nicholas is a monologue play about a 50-something Dublin theatre critic (Steve Beall) who meets a modern-day vampire after following a beautiful young actress to London (without her permission or knowledge, ick!).

Reminiscent in many ways of McPherson's The Night Alive, the threat of violence is ever-present and fans of absurd realism will appreciate his uncanny merger of otherworldliness and gritty reality.

The theatre critic clearly relishes his role as storyteller. Little more than a cynical, nasty drunkard, he admits to "feeding" on fear like some kind of wanna-be vampire. Dismissing his wife as a fatty and his kids as wastrels, he dives into the subtle complexities of being a pervert.

In the grand tradition of the rambling Irish storyteller, the critic meanders meditatively; fondly recalling his most loathsome behavior in great detail, dissecting all of the moments and motivations that led up to stalking the actress and his subsequent rendezvous with the vampire. In St Nicholas, McPherson's twisted sense of Irish humor, flawlessly executed by Beall, is so watchable because it is so bizarre.

In Act II, the audience bears witness to a stream of consciousness that borders on the incoherent. The critic works overtime to convince a bunch of strangers, as well as himself, that he is not as bad as the vampires he now serves. Regrettably, the time he spends with the vampires in the second act is the most confusing and, frankly, tiresome part of St Nicholas.

The embodiment of the critic's self-styled "dapper but disheveled" persona, Beall's performance is the highlight of St Nicholas. Kitted-out in a sleek black suit, he taps into the Irish charisma so integral to McPherson's long-winded tale.

Director Jack Sbarbori's (also Set and Costume Designer) staging is naturalistic and mercifully devoid of playacting. Beall addresses the audience conversationally and his well-executed Irish accent contributes immeasurably to the lyrical role of Irish storyteller that always manages to capture the heart and imagination of every American.

Running Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes, including intermission

Advisory: Adult language and themes

ST NICHOLAS plays through DECEMBER 17 at Quotidian Theatre Company located at the Bethesda Writer's Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD 20815. For tickets call (301) 816-1023 or click here.

Photo credit: Steve Beall as the theatre critic in ST NICHOLAS at Quotidian Theatre Company. Photo by Steve LaRocque