Off the Shelf by Doug Holder for the week of Oct. 25

Off the Shelf by Doug Holder for the week of Oct. 25

A Night in November. Play by Marie Jones. Starring: Marty Maguire. Directed by Tim Byron Owen. (Jimmy Tingle’s Off Broadway Theatre
255 Elm St. Davis Square, Somerville http://www.jtoffbroadway.com)

  If I had to describe “A Night in November” in a few words; I would say it is about a man in a cage. He is trapped by his past, by his petty bureaucratic job, by the entrenched divide between Protestant and Catholic Ireland.

  “A Night In November,” written by Marie Jones, is a one man show. The one man, who plays 26 characters, including the protagonist Kenneth McAllister, is the actor Marty Maguire. McAllister is a low level welfare officer living in the Protestant section of Belfast. For his 40 years he has been towing the line. He moves through his carefully choreographed life like a drugged out cipher. He outwardly accepts the racist, bigoted, and hateful doggerel that is dished out by members of his “tribe,” against the Catholics living on the wrong side of the tracks.

  McAllister however is starting to crack under the strain. Maguire brilliantly portrays the breakdown of this corseted man, who eventually bursts through the stranglehold of a preordained life. The sweat pours down the character’s face, he screams in rage, as he rails against the stifling bonds of family, friends and job. McAllister portrayal of Maguire can only be described as a portrait of a raging force of nature. It is a performance of Shakespearian proportions.

Maguire fleshes out the 26 characters expertly, capturing the tics and textures of each and every one. From a wizened old sod of a father-in-law, to an in-your-face New York cop, Maguire is on the money.

  In the second act, McAllister embarks on a trip to New York City to witness the “World Cup,” and gains a new perspective on life. The director, Tim Byron Owen, told me during intermission that he strived to bring a universal sensibility to the production. He wanted it to be more than an “Irish” play. And indeed, Kenneth McAllister is an everyman. He is an everyman who has a mind.  He is an everyman who stops to question his own existence during his all too brief time on this stage.

Doug Holder 

Comments

[More bush-Healey and republican tax cuts... for the rich!]

Can't we get more police and firemen we need on H-1B and L-1 visas? These guys will do the work that americans won't. And it will allow us to save tons of tons of money. If it is good enough of for private industry to save money in this way why can't we save money and get more efficient workers? Lets get a City manager who knows how to run a private business!

Since immigrants will drive anyway. If they have driver's licenses they will be tested and monitored more accurately. They will be able to get to work instead of tapping into public assistance. They will be insured. All this is better for America.

According to an AAA Foundation study on traffic safety, unlicensed drivers are five times more likely to be in fatal crashes than drivers with valid licenses. Other studies show that those who are denied licenses often seek forged documents, leading to identity theft and other problems in society.

According to StateAction, driver’s license restrictions have not deterred illegal immigration. Nor have they encouraged existing immigrants to return to their homelands.

I can understnd why people from third world countries would risk life and limb to come to America and want a better future for their kids. What I can't understand is why free Americans would choose break the law to hire and recruit them illegaly? And why we hardly do anything to fine and arrest the people who have been fueling this whole problem! Illegal hiring is the source of our problemns and you can believe these same employers are cooking books and avoiding taxes letting hte honest people here pay everyone elses share of the taxes. But why should they care if they never get arrested or fined and even end up getting republican tax breaks?

[Why have laws?]

Guess what.....not allowing people to withdraw any amount of money they choose from any bank they wish, without having an account has led to lots of problems in society - bank robberies most especially. So why not just let anyone withdraw whatever they want, then bank customers won't have to worry about armed thugs coming to the bank to terrorize them and steal the money!

[Why have pensions?]

Actually that is brilliant. If I can not withdraw money from my own pension or retirement fund after some slick CFO or CEO and his band of thief's figured out how to make billions cooking the books I would probably rob a bank. I don't know how you live without a pension or retirement account?
Talk about not being allowed to withdraw!

How many tax dollars are going to be wasted so all these people can eat, smoke cigarettes, and go to corner bar every day for their retirement?