Based on the well-known Greek myth, Bedlam theatre’s opening production of the academic year was a pleasing dissection of the often-referenced enlightenment hero and an excellent revisiting of an old tale. The show was a 25-minute monologue written by Paul Hughes, directed by Rosie Curtis and performed by Callum O’Dwyer as the titular character.

The play starts with Icarus’ childhood where he was overshadowed by his brilliant father, Daedalus. This featured O’Dwyer subtly displaying the intense, but jaded reverence Icarus had for Daedalus. The story progresses through Icarus’ life to the fiery finale, where Hughes’ writing comes full circle, having shown Icarus to be continuously broken, to the point where his jealousy of his father’s genius become the fire which ignites his final act of romantic lunacy.

Visually, the show was appropriately minimalistic; O’Dwyer stood on a small block for the duration. In a piece of directing brilliance, the lighting altered appropriately as he recalled it, but beyond that little changed visually. Icarus was equipped with his customary ravaged waxen wings throughout and the play was presented as an ethereal tale from the departed, rather than a contemporary examination and dramatisation of events as they unfold.

In this capacity it did very well; the script was well-written, thematic and tense. O’Dwyer was eloquent and believable in his delivery. He admitted in the post-show question and answer session that he had stumbled over lines, but this wasn’t at all noticeable during the performance as he had paced himself impeccably, with any stumbling just looking like one of the many, well-placed dramatic pauses. Hughes’ writing cleverly charted the internal conflict and O’Dwyer’s portrayal acutely displayed the emotional woes of Icarus, through repression of him by his father, his yearning for love and his ultimate desire for freedom.

The show was thoroughly enjoyable, the audience held in rapt attention  for the entire duration, remaining thoroughly committed to the plot and giving a resounding applause at the simple, powerful finale. Through and through, this was a display of great writing, acting and directing.

Four Stars