Review of Loft Theatre Company production of Smile (2010)

Sometimes a smile is a guilty pleasure. An instinct reaction to something that goes deeper.

Maddy can make us smile at times when we feel we shouldn’t. She’s the central – and only – character in this award-winning play, and she has the power to wring our hearts.

It’s a study of introspection, an ageing woman’s review of her life at a time when she has prematurely stepped into the abyss of unreality. She is describing, remembering – or trying to remember – and expressing past joys and sorrows in what might be seen as her last moments in a real world.

But don’t take this as downbeat. Geraldine McNulty has written a brilliantly sustained monologue that is as uplifting and funny as it is sad and revealing. And with stunning style and sensitivity, Mary MacDonald delivers Maddy with a professionalism rarely to be found in amateur theatre.

The character intrigues us with her memories of battling an aggressive pigeon, wrestling with the innards of a washing machine, struggling with life’s various iniquities – all from the area of a small table and chair, with just an occasional burst into raucous song. And the actress equally captivates us with her ability not only to deliver the emotions but to so effectively judge the moments of silence in which those feelings can be shared with an audience.

This is riveting material, and it fully underlines the value of director Gus MacDonald’s decision to run a play-writing competition. It has produced a winner in every sense of the word.

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Peter McGarry is an experienced, independent professional theatre critic who has agreed to review Loft Theatre Company productions.

The agreement with the Loft is that Peter is free to express his opinions for good or ill. The Loft Theatre Company has no control whatsoever over the content of these reviews and will never comment publicly on what he writes.