KING

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King is a new one-man show written and performed by Pat Kinevan, it tells the story of ‘Luther’ (named after his grandma’s hero, Martin Luther King) who is an isolated man who is dealing with a series of oppressions within his life including a complex family past and struggles with his mental health.

Pat Kinevan has gained quite a good reputation for his solo shows, even winning an Olivier award in 2016, as such this new play comes with quite high expectations attached. The writing in this play is often captivating, although at times it is a bit confusing and messy. The play can also feel a bit too long in times and does not warrant the 80 minute run time, with 15 minutes cut off, this could be perfect. The story takes the audience on a journey as Luther has been booked to sing at his pharmacist’s wedding as an Elvis impersonator, with the hope of getting a date as a result.

The performance by Kinevane himself was incredible, there are moments of dance within the piece, including at the very start of the show which can be hypnotic. His performances are aided by a set of voice overs which help add to the isolation of this character.

The technical elements in this show, the sparse set bar a few purple objects allows for Luther to have a large playing space highlighting the separation he feels from others, the lighting design by Pius McGrath is also visually pleasing, particularly in the moments of dance work.

Although this play does have some issues with its length, at times dragging a bit, I would still recommend it, especially if you are from Ireland, a lot of the humour will speak to you. The performance of Pat as Luther is enough to justify buying a ticket. KING runs at Assembly @ Dance Base daily at 18.30.