Safe House

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When one considers memory, it is seen as a singular, coherent structure when, in fact, it is an ever-changing fabric of perception. A childhood reflection of seeing a butterfly on a flower can combine with a scary walk on a dark night. Memory time is fluid, moving forward and backward as one encounters triggers to various moments that define a life. They can make sense or not, but they are real at the moment of articulation. Memories are the consequence of living in a world filled with positive wonder and crushing disappointment. They are the beacons that guide our every action. They are the source of dreams and nightmares.

Safe House is an amorphous mosaic of sight and sound just out of reach of being any one thing. It is at once a song cycle, memory play, comedy, tragedy, a visual and aural potpourri of sensation resembling a modern avant-garde opera more than a theatrical musical or play with music. Written and directed by Enda Walsh with music by electronic-acoustic composer Anna Mullarkey, the show tells the story of Grace, a young, homeless Irish woman living on a handball court in Galway. According to Walsh, it is a story of survival in the chaotic jumble of memories mixed with dreams and fantasies of a different life.

The presentation is a disjointed narrative of projections and song that gives a sense of Grace’s disordered mental state. She is brought to life by the extraordinary talent of Kate Gilmore, who embodies and delivers the character’s fragmented mental state in conjunction with the visual tapestry of projections brilliantly created by Jack Phelan.

Gilmore’s singing is solid in delivering the lyrics that form the body of the text. The story presents Grace’s behavior as she reacts to and acts out the visions being generated by her deteriorating mental state. She moves from a dream-like state with smooth deliberate moments to hyperactive anger expressed by kicking and throwing objects in and around her place.

The technical aspects of the production are a strong addition to the overall physical dimensions of the play. All of the scenes are supported by or introduced by Phelan’s projections and the precise lighting effects of Adam Silverman. The set and costume design by Katie Davenport completes the definition of Grace’s character with a variety of costumes tied to the projections and a disordered, trash-filled set. The sound design by Helen Atkinson is also an essential element in establishing the ambiance, with the only issue being the volume of the sound. It is too loud, making it difficult to hear the lyrics of the songs clearly.

One of the technical details of the set is several small television monitors positioned in the performance area. They enhance the overall projections and interject subtle visual elements supporting the action on stage. One such moment is the projection of a scene from Disney’s Snow White of the evil stepmother witch. At the same time, a large projection on the back wall shows Grace’s mother standing in the background of a room with a group of young girls celebrating Grace’s birthday. Grace is wearing a princess dress and has a black eye, a suggestion of abuse, especially with the image of her mother looming in the background of the birthday party, smoking a cigarette.

There are vignettes of memory fragments suggesting other traumatic events in addition to physical abuse, such as sexual molestation. There is a suggestion of the things that Grace had to do to continue to survive, such as prostitution. Alcohol plays a role in her story as the mylar inner bag from a wine box is repeatedly used by her during and after some of the projections until it is empty and is disposed of out of anger or frustration. There are even moments of hallucinogenic imagery suggesting drug use. The songs of Mullarkey act as guides through the chaos, revealing Grace’s mental state and the reality that she is spiraling down, losing the will to survive.

Safe House is a demonstration that there is no safe place for a homeless woman in a mental state such as Grace’s. The cascade of disjointed memories and hallucinations creates an illusion of stability for Grace, but the reality is one of a loss of self within the jumble of junk that populates the place she calls home. She becomes just another piece of trash in the cityscape she occupies, inexorably descending into an abyss of non-existence.

This is a challenging production for anyone interested in a unique theatrical experience. It forces the viewer to grasp and understand uncomfortable messages that shape one’s view of reality. It is a show worth seeing if for nothing more than to sample an out-of-the-ordinary theatrical experience.

Safe House (through March 2, 2025)

Abbey Theatre, in association with the Irish Arts Center

St. Ann’s Warehouse, 45 Water Street, in Brooklyn.

For tickets, visit https://www.ticketsales.com/safe-house-play-tickets-st-anns-warehouse/event/5376917

Running time: 90 minutes without an intermission