Photo by Roz Kavanagh

Do You Come From Gomorrah? by Frank McGuinness – Abbey Theatre Peacock Stage, Dublin

Frank McGuinness’ new play for the Abbey Theatre is stripped right back: one performer, Ryan Donaldson, describing his experiences. These come in bursts of returning memory – recounting first his boyhood with his alcoholic mother, then the Belfast boy’s home he lived in when she died, then the abuse orchestrated by the home’s boss, ‘Beastie Billy’. The place is a brothel for soldiers in the British Army, including top brass, who abuse underage boys. We never learn the narrator’s name.

It’s a harrowing piece, but barely fictional. Everyone watching the play, certainly in Ireland, will instantly make the connection to the notorious Kincora Boys Home, run by William McGrath, in which systematic abuse was accompanied by Presbyterian Unionist rhetoric, backed with beatings. Unproven stories have circulated for half a century about who knew what was happening at Kincora, and who took part in the appalling abuse that took place.

McGuinness does not attempt to explore the conspiracies: he is only interested in the experiences of the narrator, what happened to him and how he dealt with it. His language is rich and precise, carefully chosen and crafted. We know we’re in the hands of a craftsman. Ryan Donaldson performance is gripping, changing from an unsettling insistent teenager to a desperate young man before our eyes. His is both engaging and sometimes threatening, giving glimpses of the techniques he used to survive.

Sarah Baxter’s production is boldy staged in an abstract black box, with a mirror above and a pool of water below, in Alyson Cummins’ striking designs. Sinéad McKenna’s brings the setting to life with flickering reflections and long shadows. The pool, which separates Donaldson from the audience, is used for a coup de théâtre at the play’s emotional climax when he breaks through the barrier. ‘Do You Come From Gomorrah’ is seriously high quality theatre, with one of Ireland’s great playwrights bringing his remarkable skills to bear on the human cost of corruption and abuse of power.