Good With Faces theatre review: Far-fetched interrogations
With over-the-top plot twists and confusing characters, this thriller feels stilted and scattered
In this puzzling two-hander from Oisín Kearney (My Left Nut), social worker Hegarty (Patrick McBrearty) interviews single mum Garrick (Clodagh Mooney Duggan) about a recent incident involving her son Max. What begins as a routine investigation quickly turns into a deeply weird, sexually charged power play that ultimately struggles to stay on the right side of credulity. Staged in a nondescript front room, Hegarty’s initial procedural approach begins to stray into impropriety as the conversation shifts from generic questioning and subtle inference to physical ‘trust exercises’. As things become more pointed and accusatory, Kearney’s script introduces an unsettling tension, with Garrick becoming increasingly defensive as she attempts to evade scrutiny.
However, that carefully constructed suspense is punctured by a series of bizarre character decisions that become increasingly difficult to reconcile with the motivations and behaviour established earlier. Duggan and McBrearty inhabit the performance space intuitively, using distance and proximity as visual markers when either performer gains the upper hand. However, the dialogue is batted back and forth too mechanically, diminishing momentum between the two. As both accused and accuser’s stories finally unravel, the final act stretches belief to breaking point and the increasingly far-fetched plot twists are difficult to take seriously.
Good With Faces, Summerhall, until 31 August, 4.20pm.