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I saw Cillian Murphy in Misterman at St. Ann's Warehouse last night with Lynn (in town again as a Chase Trainer). He blew me away.
Now first, realize it is an Irish one-man play. That means SERIOUS and tragic from the get go. (Although no mention of the potato famine in this one!). Mr. Murphy played a young man driven mad by voices in his head. Or maybe driven mad first and hearing voice just mad him madder (in both sense of the word). Or maybe he was in hell or maybe purgatory. There was a beauty in not understanding his confinement.
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The character (Thomas) lives in / inhabits / is constrained by a huge warehouse space, dirty and wide enough to give free range to his reliving / demonstrating his life. He brings his guilt and sadness and anger and manic energy into the space - in order to give life to his recreation of a pivotal day in his life (wait! Not just NO potato famine, but no Catholic child abuse either! If not for Yeats or the accent you would barely know it's Irish). The only hint of life outside this cavernous space is barking angry dogs that drive him towards madness.
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When we hear the voices of his tormentors, Mr. Murphy does both voices- showing how Thomas sees them. When we hear from the less antagonistic people he faces - like his mother or neighbor, we hear their words from antique reel to reel tape decks - which he thinks he has control over.
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This quick overview doesn't really dig into the depths of the show. Ofr the depths of Mr. Murphy's amazing portrait of a man living in the shadow of his father and God - but ultimately betrayed (through being ignored) by both. He was mesmerizing. When he was visited by ethereal beauty - he described it with his eyes, and his face and his entire body, his voice and words followed this outpouring, almost unnecessarily.
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If you can, see it (St. Ann's Warehouse) in Brooklyn. Yes, I drug my ass to Brooklyn to see it.
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You would know Cillian from Batman (as Scarecrow), Inception (as the Mark) or the In Time (Time Keeper / Cop). He was great..
PLUS, after the show, as Lynn and I left, we ran into (not physically but in the audience, Susan Saradon - who locked FABULOUS!