Howie the Rookie

Comparisons to the work of fellow Irish playwrights Conor McPherson and Martin McDonagh are inevitable. O'Rowe shares with McPherson a love of the monologue, but his darkly comic humor is closer to that of McDonagh. This production, directed by Mike Bradwell, originally premiered at the Bush Theatre in London to great acclaim and was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The play's two actors are both excellent, even if it is sometimes difficult to understand their words through the thickness of their accents. Aidan Kelly as "the Howie Lee" (as he's called) starts off the evening, detailing an adventure involving a scabies-infested mattress and the hunt for "the Rookie Lee" (no relation), who may or may not have been responsible. With piercing blue eyes and a commanding stage presence, Kelly describes the goings-on in an endearing and funny manner that almost makes you forget the character's thuggish brutality.

Karl Shiels is no less impressive as the Rookie Lee, a cowardly lothario with a misogynistic streak. Rookie is desperately trying to borrow enough money to pay for the two prize Siamese fighting fish he accidentally killed. The fish belong to the deceptively named gangster Ladyboy, who threatens to break the Rookie's kneecaps if he doesn't come up with the money. Shiels moves with a swagger, and the expressiveness of his face tells you all you need to know. His description of a fight between Howie and Ladyboy is epic in its detailing of blood and gore, and Shiels delivers the passage with awe and incomprehension.

Male bonding is a primary theme of the play. Some moments even verge on the homoerotic, such as when the Howie Lee strokes the Rookie's cheek; though Rookie quickly lets the audience know this was "not gay-like," the moment is one of the play's strongest. A gay character, Ollie, also features prominently in the story as a catalyst for the first half of the show's events.