London Theatre Award nomination Cathal Cleary: 'Disco Pigs is a rollicking, high- speed neck-breaker of a play, which propels the audience through scenes so quickly they risk whiplash.'

The Guardian: “Walsh's play didn't so much debut at the 1997 Edinburgh fringe as erupt there. It retains its thrilling vigour and jabbering energy in this revival, directed by Cathal Cleary…. Quite rightly Cleary treats it as the period piece it is, but he and designer Chloe Lamford also look forward to later Walsh plays with a set suggesting a stage within a stage on which Runt and Pig are condemned, like two ham actors, to act out the same script.”

Disco Pigs is a rollicking, high- speed neck-breaker of a play, which propels the audience through scenes so quickly they risk whiplash. Yet, Cleary never allows writer Edna Walsh’s classic, which explores the stomach- clenching anguish of adolescent desire and the search for self-identity, to get out of control. There is a clear rhythmical structure and skillful direction beneath this manufactured frenzy.

For Pig and Runt (born Sinead and Darren) achieving true sophistication means bluffing their way underage into the Palace Disco, a feat that culminates in revealing the distance between their youthful expectations and bland reality. Cleary’s most startling achievement is the way he prompts the audience’s emotions to mimic Pig and Runt’s experiences as they come of age. We experience the play like a shambolic adolescent night out; as Pig and Runt revel in the pressure of teenage expectation to have The-Best-Night-Ever, we catch this buzz of anticipation and start to believe that maybe these characters will find a way to coax their relationship into adulthood intact. Yet, as they finally gain access to the Palace Disco and so step into the adult world, expecting triumph and instead find violence on its sticky floors, our illusions too are shattered. We realise the dynamics of this friendship have altered beyond repair and that they can never return to their former state of naivety. And indeed, neither can we.

Watching Disco Pigs is like being simultaneously blasted with 90’s Trance and fiercely shaken. But, in a really good way.  You will end the night feeling disheveled and strangely elated, as though numbed by one too many Sambuca shots. But, as you exit the stalls and the alcohol stales in your mouth, you may be struck with uneasy recognition- for the loss of what cannot be redeemed.

Cathal Cleary graduated from National University of Ireland, Galway with an MA in Drama & Theatre Studies in 2005. He has since directed numerous productions and was awarded the JMK Award for young directors in 2011.

Photo Alastair Muir