THE IRISH TIMES Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Reviews ESB Dublin Fringe Festival

RomAntic aGE
Andrews Lane Studio

Belinda McKeon (THE ARTS section)

Firebrand Theory, a New York-based company, has had an inspired rifle through the writings of the poet William Blake, and the result is an exploration of urban loneliness and redemption that, while erratic, is always impassioned. And always authentic – in a clever work of warp and woof, every last word spoke onstage by the five-member cast is a quote from Blake himself.

Jaime Robert Carrillo plays the unnamed protagonist, a New York immigrant betrayed by both his wife and his city, and everything from The Chimney Sweeper to Never Seek to Tell They Love is recruited to translate his woe – neatly, indeed poignantly at times, but in too laboured and self conscious at others. Carrillo’s own performance is powerful, his anguish palpable, but the private angel and devil which shadow his ordeal are played with scant originality by his companions onstage, and other characters are thinly drawn, while a promising soundtrack is marred by jerky application. Still, fans of the poems may love this, and it’s an interestingly modern delve into a romantic notebook.