By Bridget Whelan

“You can prey on someone else,” the attractive young estate agent tells the gombean politician, the ultimate Mick on the Make, in Eddie Alford’s new comedy that charts the brown envelope culture of Ireland in the 1990s.‘Ah no,’ says the Minister for Darts, “I do that on Sundays.’

Murphy’s Legacy is about corruption, marital breakdown and sex in a small town. And pig racing. The audience never meet Mr Murphy or number one wife (number two wife dies on honeymoon).

They live their troubled lives off stage but through Paddy, the jack of all trades who takes care of things on the bankrupt Murphy estate, the agent employed to sell it and the solicitor acting for the new buyer, we learn how their problems reflect the values of the Celtic Tiger and that the seeds of its destruction existed at its birth.

This is the second comedy Elford  - a former lecturer in Performing Arts – has brought to Brighton Festival Fringe, the second largest arts festival inEurope. Last year his play about the canal boats transporting Guinness down theShannonwon standing room only houses, five star reviews and an award for artistic excellence. He is back with almost the same troup of actors.

Gearoid Sheehan from Cork City is a natural on the stage, playing the unsophisticated but highly intelligent estate worker with a fast brogue and a quick wit while Fay Greenhalgh portrays the liberation of a small town feminist with an edgy cascade of jibes. Louise Taylor is a newcomer to the Harbour Theatre Company.

Originally from County Tyrone, she is now a regular on the south coast stand up comedy scene and brings a rock steady professionalism to her role as the sexually adventurous helicopter-flying Dublin solicitor.

Vinny Fennell plays two pivotal roles: a smarm-loaded priest, the sort that sends a shiver down the spine, and a politician that never needs to carry a wallet because championing dubious planning applications pays most debts. Both stick in the mind - as well as the throat – but he manages to convey an underlying vulnerability that makes them human as well as funny.   

But the stars of the show are the racing pigs who carry a lot of bets on their broad backs.They don’t actually appear on stage – this is pub theatre not a production fromMGM- but Vinny’s commentary makes you believe that they are panting around the circuit, running their hearts out.

IT COULD be said that the subject material of David Edgar’s Written on the Heart – the translation of the King James Bible – is prohibitively specific. True, the play, under Gregory Doran’s tutelage, is dense with historic and textual detail, but the impact of the KJB on the English language has been so great as to imbue the production with a universal resonance.

It opens in 1610 at the Holborn residence of Bishop Launcelot Andrewes, where a committee of translators is arguing over the final revisions to what will become the Authorised Version of the Bible.

From there Written on the Heart jumps around chronologically. Scene two takes the audience to Flanders, 74 years previous, as William Tyndale is attempting to smuggle his earlier English translation of the Bible out of a Flemish prison the day before he is to be execution for heresy. The figure of Tyndale, played with righteous integrity by Stephen Boxer, later appears to Oliver Ford Davies’s Andrewes whom he indicts for translating the Bible “into an ancient tongue.”

Tyndale had intended for his version to make the word of God accessible to the common man and takes umbrage at how the King James translation, under Andrewes’s guidance, favours the use of more purple language.

Andrewes occupies a sort of middle ground within the church, embracing, to an extent, some of its ornate trappings while also endeavouring to remain true to Tyndale’s spirit of inclusiveness.

The action moves to 1586 where a dispute in Yorkshire illustrates the internal tensions within the Anglican Church. The play then loops back to 1610, the year before the publication of the KJB, where it began.

Edgar’s writing exposes the many layers underneath the surface of the KJB. Like most artistic creations it was shaped by the society and culture in which it was created but also heavily influenced by its precedents.

It is one of the three “golden books” of the English language – the others being the Works of Shakespeare and the Book of Common Prayer. As such it deserves a competent and insightful cultural treatment, in David Edgar and the Royal Shakespeare Company it receives this.

Written on the Heart runs at the Duchess theatre until July 21

Dan Griffin

By Shelley Marsden

PUTTING it a nutshell, Enda Walsh’s Misterman at the National Theatre is a must-see.

Not only will Walsh’s dark, deeply weird script knock you out, but the staging and set design is spectacular and unique. Oh, and striking Cork actor Cillian Murphy’s gifts goes beyond his chiselled cheekbones - his maniacal, hypnotic performance is a master-class in acting.

Walsh is never an easy customer, let’s be fair. Past plays have often been long-winded, full of bizarre flights of fantasy, almost obsessive repetition of theatrical devices but Misterman, an old piece its creator has reworked, is by a mile the most fascinating, absorbing and disturbing of Walsh’s works to date.

Murphy is a collaborator of Walsh’s from way back, having made his professional debut in the playwright’s Disco Pigs in 1996, a surprise hit which went on to tour Europe, Canada and Australia for two years and led Murphy to leaving his law degree, his band and pursing acting for real. Then he proceeded to dazzle on the big screen in films like 28 Days, The Dark Knight and Inception.

A one-man show at the Lyttleton seemed worryingly over-confident, but though Murphy is the only figure to appear on its vast stage for the entire ninety minutes, never once does he seem dwarfed by its sensational warehouse-style set – with its piles of rubbish, various tape recording devices, lit crucifixes and corrugated iron walls the perfect environment for its creepy protagonist.

Thirty-something religious nut Thomas Magill has a mother fixation and an even bigger thing for God, hiding himself away from the various characters of his one-horse town in a massive, empty industrial space – fort reasons, initially, unknown. He is on a mission to bring light into the lives of Inishfree’s pagan inhabitants, and obsessively returns in his mind to the day in which he spoke to many of them and tried to set them right – often with disastrous consequences.

Murphy is masterful as he plays himself and also the characters he meets that day (unless he plays them on his cassette) – from the pumped up Dublin lad whose only interest is cars to the lascivious Northern waitress in the local café, who he attempts to flee from, protesting that “all I wanted was a slice of your delicious cheesecake!” There are plenty of laughs provided by Thomas’s mother, who is explicit in her praise of the effectiveness of Milk of Magnesia to clear out one’s system, and wonders if Doris Day was a jammy dodger lady or not.

But even in the most humorous of scenes, it is clear that all is not well in the mind of Thomas, and things will only end in tears. That Murphy can flip from chirpy neighbour to put upon son to religious zealot with such ease is something to behold.

There are glimpses of the violence he is capable with, before the final denouement – when a dog mauls his leg, he batters it to death – only to get a beating from its furious owner. And when he meets a beautiful woman who he thinks is an angel sent from above, things quickly spiral downwards.

Misterman was inspired by the Whitegate murders in east Clare in May 1994, and Murphy’s gift at playing Thomas Magill is that he strips back his darkness bit by bit, until we are in doubt as to how things will end. Stunning, nightmarish, unforgettable: this is Walsh and Murphy at the top of their game.

Misterman runs at The National Theatre, London until 28 May. Call 0207 452 3000 or visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk to book.

CLAUDIA REDMOND speaks to Neil McDermott, the latest cast member in hit West End musical Shrek...

Neil McDermott is joining the stellar cast of Shrek The Musical inLondon’sWest End. Playing the diminutive Lord Farquaad alongside Dean Chisnall as Shrek, Richard Blackwood as Donkey and Kimberley Walsh as Princess Fiona. I caught up with Neil to find out how he is feeling about opening night…

Neil - do you think it will be hard to fill the somewhat little shoes left by Nigel Harman in the part of Farquaad?

Part of the reason I took the role was because when I went to watch it I could see how much fun Nigel was having and how much creativity and personality he was able to bring to the role. And I thought he was excellent. Saying that, I don't really feel the need to fill his shoes, I'll just wear my own shoes and try to make them fit. And thankfully I have been encouraged and allowed to bring my own sense of humour and character choices to the role.

Farquaad is really a scene stealer isn't he?

Potentially, yes. I think the great thing about the part is that it has been built on from the film, and been developed into a more substantial role. The fact that you play the part on your knees with fake legs (because Farquaad is a dwarf) is a gift to any actor and gets you off to a flyer before you open your mouth. 

Do your knees get sore shuffling around the stage, it looks quite painful?

Well, I get told off if I shuffle. I am meant to pick up my knees properly for every step, otherwise it doesn't look as real. Pip Jordan and Hamish Pirie have been brilliant with me, getting the details of the puppetry side of it right. But yes, there is an impact pain that comes with persistent knee stomping, but I have found the main problem is in the lower back. It is very important to keep that area strong. I tried to do a lot of yoga before I started in anticipation of these issues. 

Have you done comedy before?

I don't often get to do comedy, although I have done bits. I am a massive fan of Lee Evans and Jim Carey's cartoon style of comedy, and that is an influence I try to bring to the role. Again it was another big reason for wanting to do this as I get to show another side to my acting that I don't always get to embellish! 

Had you been a fan of Shrek before joining the cast?

I loved the Shrek films and think the iconic characters that were created in those films was genius. Shrek, the ogre, is one of those very few characters that everybody knows straight away and I think Mike Myers and the Dreamworks team created something truly unique that will stay with us forever (after, :).

Have you been following Eastenders since you left your role as Ryan Malloy?

I have seen bits and bobs.  But to be honest I stopped watching it religiously whilst I was still in it, as i found it a bit much going to work on the show then coming home and watching yourself on the show. Also I’m very busy around that time putting my daughter to bed and getting some dinner down me. So unfortunately not too much, although I hear it is on top form which I would expect as there are so many wonderful actors working on the show at the moment. 

Do you think some of the cast will come to see you in it?

A fair few have been in touch asking when they can come see the show. I talk to Charlie Hawkins a fair bit and he is desperate to come. Nina Wadia and her family, Lacey Turner, Charlie Brooks, Charlie Clements....I made some great friends in my two and half years on the show, so no doubt my friends will come to support. 

Dean Chisnall is also new to the cast in the role of Shrek, does it help that you are both the new boys together?

It certainly does, although Dean was obviously understudying the role last year so knows the show pretty well. He's a lovely guy and has made a real effort to welcome me to the company which I appreciate. And he makes a great Shrek.

Richard Blackwood is hysterical as donkey, is he fun to work with?

My character doesn't do too much with Donkey so I haven't seen a lot of Richard around yet, which is a shame, I've been busy learning all my mammoth dance numbers. But I’m really looking forward to working with Richard more over the coming weeks.  

Kimberly Walsh plays Princess Fiona, do you have some musical numbers with her?

I share some wonderfully awkward moments withKimberleyand her Princess in the second act. Kimberley was in my position not so long ago being the new kid in town taking over from Amanda, so she understands most the pressure of that, and is a very open lovely person to talk to, if and when I need to. 

Why do you think Shrek is such a popular musical?

I honestly think it is pure magic. The design of the show is stunning, and totally has that wow factor for children when they first see Shrek and the other characters live in front of them. I also think it brilliantly holds onto the Mike Myers humour from the film which entertains children and adults alike. I even believe it has something a little extra to the film with the cleverness of the music and the lyrics and the choreography. I would have loved to have seen this show as a child. It really is a treat for the whole family. 

Did you have musical theatre training?

Not really. I did an Acting course atDramaSchool. Although when I was 15-17, I was involved with The National Youth Music Theatre, so did musicals then. And having been an actor for 10 years now(eeek) I have done a few musicals along the way. I did La Cage Aux Folles with Douglas Hodge who gave the best performance I have ever seen on a stage and wonderfully went on to win a Tony award for his work. He inspired me to realise that just because you are in a musical doesn't mean you can't act the socks off a part, and I carry that with me today. 

What scares you most about this new challenge?

Musicals are always a bit scary because you have to be good at acting, singing and dancing which is tough enough anyway, but then to say oh yeah and you have to be good at them whilst playing the part on your knees is a pretty scary thing. I enjoy a challenge though and hope the audiences enjoy the end product of the hard work we are all doing in rehearsals now. 

You can see Neil in action at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

www.shrekthemusical.co.uk