The actor John Keating is a tall bag of bones with fright-wig hair and frightened-deer eyes, a look created for character elements. That he nabs the lead purpose in Laoisa Sexton’s “The Pigeon while in the Taj Mahal” in the Irish Repertory Theater is rationale enough to determine it, regardless of whether the play’s protracted execution wears out the prickly charm of its premise.
Mr. Keating performs the Pigeon with the title, a sweater-clad, Elvis-quoting naïfile who lives in a trailer park in rural Ireland. Is he lonesome tonight? Not precisely. But he’s Obviously thrilled to find a youthful female in smeared make-up and ripped tulle dumped on his doorstep. “You might have the unusual beauty,” he states to her unconscious sort. “Similar to a swan in the dirty lake!” This is Lolly (Ms. Sexton), a plastered bride-to-be overdosed on vodka and physique glitter. On waking, she initially threatens Pigeon having a hammer and after that softens at his odd hospitality.
Once Lolly is kind of awake, Ms. Sexton has very good fun contrasting her shallow metropolis styles with Pigeon’s callow approaches. “D’you got apple iphone, d’you need to do?” she whines. “I cell phone?” the perplexed Pigeon asks. But as they remain from the trailer, the Participate in starts to spin its motionless wheels. There’s loads of dialogue and many depredation, Specifically after Yet another bachelorette (Zoë Watkins) arrives, but getting put these characters collectively, Ms. Sexton and also the director, Alan Cox, don’t know really what to do with them. Inspite of a persistent theme of innocence and knowledge, and some questions about the location of folklore in present-day Eire, “The Pigeon while in the Taj Mahal” mainly looks like a a person-act that outgrew by itself. Rather less discussion wouldn’t damage.
But action fears Ms. Sexton considerably fewer than delivering a vigorous, at times vulgar showcase for herself and another actors. A deft performer, she Evidently enjoys Lolly’s woozy, crude obliviousness, but she is equally as joyful to cede the phase to Mr. Keating. Pigeon isn’t a wholly credible character, but Mr. Keating lends him warmth and a mild kind of bravery, even even though am dao gia donning lipstick along with a penis headband. Cheers to Ms. Sexton for permitting this distinctive actor distribute his wings.