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Past Reviews Off Broadway Reviews |
The most common definition of scourge people will know today is "a person or thing that causes great trouble or suffering." So, of course, in the context of Mahon's story, Alzheimer's disease is obviously, and very definitely, a scourge. The irony, however, is that throughout the piece Mahon refers to herself as a scourge. As her monologue unfolds, the reason for this becomes clear: Mahon is a troublemaker of the first order and doesn't suffer fools gladly. Whip-smart with a sly sense of humor, she would be right at home at any dinner party and there's no doubt she would know exactly what to do if you had a body of which you needed to dispose. But Alzheimer's disease and the slow, cruel loss of her beloved mother Siobhan, knocks Mahon down for the count and it takes years, seven years to be exact, for her to fight her way back to the human race. In the 85-minute The Scourge, her laser-like observations about the healthcare system, long-term disability facilities, and her families response to their mother's illness have a biting poignancy which are distilled through Mahon's own life-tested personality. Simply directed by Ben Barnes, the former artistic director of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, The Scourge and Mahon benefit tremendously from the intimacy of the Irish Rep's W. Scott McLucas Studio space. Mahon's voice seldom rises above a mezzo forte and she frequently delivers entire passages in a voice barely louder than a whisper. But she doesn't need volume to make her point. It's with her words that she heals herself and, by extension, she heals us too. The Scourge
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