There is something gratifying about an in-family collaboration, probably rooted in our Irish ethos that blood runs thicker than water. Playwright Anna Clifford took her inspiration for her recent Smock Alley staging of Jenny is a Raver from the music written and composed by her brother Steven. The forty-minute piece tells the comic yet tender story of finding love through the haze of a drug fuelled lifestyle. Less than favourable circumstances bring Jenny and Ben, sorry Robbie, on a rollercoaster ride of emotion and youth against a backdrop of unexpected pregnancies, binges and an attempt at holding it all together.
Aside from my interest in melting pot projects, Jenny is a Raver beckoned for other reasons. Doused in rhyme and rhythm and exploring the potential after effects of too many nights in The Button Factory, it is a unique take on the lives we’re all living. Racked with recession, forced to work for free (apparently this next internship will lead to something) and living for the weekend. Not only is it injected with live musical interludes by Steven Clifford but the script itself has a poetic rhythm riling regular laughs from an audience who can relate to head banging due hanging. Song and speech weave effortlessly amongst one another evoking emotion whilst maintaining an overall lighter tone. Girls punching boys, scags and exaggerations, awkward conversations coupled with tender intimacies, Clifford has produced a piece that tugs on every emotion whilst dealing with contemporary issues.
Raver swings effortlessly from cheeky gag to emotive seriousness walking the audience through the paces of their own emotional turmoil. Whatever it is you’re feeling at any given point will be mirrored and intensified by Steven’s soundtrack. Making full use of the small space afforded them, the cast transform nightclub to bedroom with the swish of a sheet.
A truly unique theatre experience, Jenny is a Raver is a credit to all those involved. Although its three day run in The Smock Alley Theatre has since finished, keep an eye and an ear to the ground–this could be one for the festivals.
