The actor John Keating is usually a tall bag of bones with fright-wig hair and frightened-deer eyes, a look crafted for character components. That he nabs the lead function in Laoisa Sexton’s “The Pigeon in the Taj Mahal” with the Irish Repertory Theater is rationale more than enough to discover it, although the Engage in’s protracted execution wears out the prickly allure of its premise.
Mr. Keating performs the Pigeon of the title, a sweater-clad, Elvis-quoting naïfile who life in the trailer park in rural Eire. Is he lonesome tonight? Not specifically. But he’s Plainly thrilled to locate a young woman in smeared makeup and ripped tulle dumped on his doorstep. “You've got the unheard of attractiveness,” he suggests to her unconscious variety. “Just like a swan inside a soiled lake!” This is often Lolly (Ms. Sexton), a plastered bride-to-be overdosed on vodka and physique glitter. On waking, she to start with threatens Pigeon having a hammer after which softens at his odd hospitality.
The moment Lolly is more or less awake, Ms. Sexton has very good enjoyable contrasting her shallow metropolis styles with Pigeon’s callow ways. “D’you bought apple iphone, d’you are doing?” she whines. “I telephone?” the perplexed Pigeon asks. But as they continue to be inside the trailer, the Participate in starts to spin its motionless wheels. There’s a lot of dialogue and many depredation, Specially the moment another bachelorette (Zoë Watkins) comes, but acquiring put these characters together, Ms. âm đạo giả Sexton and the director, Alan Cox, don’t know quite how to proceed with them. Inspite of a persistent topic of innocence and encounter, and some questions on the location of folklore in present-day Eire, “The Pigeon within the Taj Mahal” mainly feels like a one-act that outgrew itself. A little less discussion wouldn’t hurt.
But action issues Ms. Sexton much fewer than providing a vigorous, at times vulgar showcase for herself and another actors. A deft performer, she Plainly enjoys Lolly’s woozy, crude obliviousness, but she is just as satisfied to cede the phase to Mr. Keating. Pigeon isn’t an entirely credible character, but Mr. Keating lends him warmth and a gentle sort of bravery, even while putting on lipstick in addition to a penis headband. Cheers to Ms. Sexton for letting this unique actor spread his wings.