RALEIGH -- Irish playwrights inevitably write about alcoholism, because it's such a pervasive element in their society. Memorable drinkers populate works by Sean O'Casey and Brendan Behan, and live on in those of Conor McPherson, whose hilariously sad "The Seafarer" makes a strong impression in Burning Coal Theatre Company's production.
It's Christmas Eve in a Dublin suburb, where hapless Sharky shares a dingy home with his blind brother, Richard. Sharky's drinking binges have recently lost him a girlfriend and a job. Now he's trying to quit, but with no help from cantankerous Richard, who's constantly demanding a nip, or from roly-poly Ivan, who has just spent the night after too many pints. Soon there will be two more, because Richard has invited babbling Nicky and his new pub buddy, the dapper, mysterious Lockhart, for a night of poker.
The camaraderie turns dour after Sharky recognizes Lockhart, who has come to collect a debt from 25 years earlier, when he helped Sharky evade prison for drunkenly beating an elderly man. The payment is Sharky's soul.
McPherson's memorable characters run the gamut of human comedy, especially in the wacky excuses they make up to justify drinking nearly every waking moment. Their shaky relationships with wives and girlfriends are funny on the surface but painfully sad underneath.
McPherson makes these shamblers lovable despite their disintegrating lives, but in the second act he gets a little heavy-handed with the Faust-like turn his tale takes. He wants to make thought-provoking statements about the hell that alcoholism creates, but they are too obviously salted into an otherwise lighter framework.
Still, the script offers actors great characterizations, strongly realized for the most part. Holden Hansen gives Sharky an appropriately downtrodden demeanor, showing the hopeless rut he's in. Peter Haig's Richard rails and rants endearingly, forgivably irritating in his rage against disability and family woes. Randolph Curtis Rand makes Lockhart devilishly confident and powerful, while David Dossey quietly steals scene after scene with his go-with-the-flow bumbling. As Nicky, Stephen LeTrent seems too young, but he plays the character's false bravado well.
Director Jerome Davis keeps things moving amiably, allowing the players to inhabit Robert John Andrusko's detailed two-story set with a slovenly reality. He brings out the ribald, scatological humor and doesn't let the darker elements become too serious. Davis might have asked for more variety from his actors, but they play well together in an engaging ensemble.
Despite McPherson's overly ambitious premise, Burning Coal's staging of "The Seafarer" is an entertaining, laugh-filled night of theater.
