Exiles

Tweet

Exiles is the only play that James Joyce wrote. It hasn’t had a professional revival in New York since 1977. The Map Theater presents a solid production with a strong cast, although the play has its flaws.

Exiles has a complicated history: it was published before it was produced, and was rejected by theaters in the UK and Ireland, most notably by W.B. Yeats on behalf on the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. It was first produced in Munich and received mostly negative reviews. The play never really got its due until a 1970 production in the United Kingdom directed by Harold Pinter.

Exiles mainly tells the story of four people – Richard (accomplished TV and voiceover actor Jeffrey Omura, appropriately uptight), his wife Bertha (Layla Khoshnoudi, very sensual), their friend Robert (a manly Rodd Cyrus, recently seen in Ragtime at Encores!) and Beatrice (a reserved Violeta Picayo). Richard and Bertha have just returned from Rome with their illegitimate child Archie (well played in a dual role by Mattie Tindall; she also handles the housekeeper Brigid and it is to the director and actor’s credit that this is not distracting in the least, even when she changes clothes and character on stage). Robert is in love with Bertha and tells her, inviting her to his cottage later that night. But Bertha tells Richard, who then shows up at the cottage himself (Bertha shows up later on). Some have speculated that Joyce was enamored with works of Ibsen and that makes a lot of sense; the play certainly has echoes of the great playwright. It’s not a perfect play; one can see how it would be rejected and the interest is largely due to the author’s legendary status.

It is also possible that Exiles was ahead of its time. It’s all quite shocking for 1918, and even a little controversial for some today.

The best scene in the play is an impeccably staged seduction between Robert and Bertha and it made me wonder what it would have been like if Joyce had given himself over to his erotic impulses (check out his letters to his eventual wife Nora, helpfully linked in the digital program) and written a Tender Napalm type of play. He clearly had a knack for sexually charged moments onstage.

This production of Exiles has been adapted by the director, Zachary Elkind, but according to the press rep the changes are minor – cuts for time, streamlining the relationships, and making Archie and Brigid a dual role.

The set and lighting design, by Cate McCrea and Amara Payton McNeil, are minimal but effective, managing to show two different locations without moving any furniture, which is impressive. Alyssa Korol’s costume design is a touch modern but fits the tone of the show. The director Elkind, the former Associate Artistic Director of Bedlam, chose to use modern interstitial music which seems odd considering the show is set in Dublin in 1912. Other than that, the direction is solid, with excellent performances from the entire cast.

In today’s political climate live theatre is one of the few pure escapes we have. You have to put your phone away and just pay attention. This is a rare chance to see this historic play and it is very much worth your time.

Exiles (through March 15, 2025)

The Map Theater

The Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theatres, 502 West 53^rd Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, visit http://www.themaptheater.com/

Running time: 90 minutes without an intermission