Simon Ward reviews Howie The Rookie at The Cockpit

Mark O’Rowe’s multi-award winning 1999 play, Howie The Rookie, is brought to the very freshly refurbished Cockpit under the direction of US-based theatre maker Jerome Davis. The piece is very firmly rooted in its working class Dublin milieu – the rhythms and music of the language are essential to its power. As dialect coach, Rebecca Bossen has the task of bringing American actors Lucius Robinson (The Howie Lee) and Andrew Price Carlile (The Rookie Lee) up to speed with this unique sound. It is a valiant effort, but not one that fully succeeds. Accent purists will have to accept that this is an approximation of the real thing. That aside, and to the immense credit of both players, this deficit is soon forgotten as the grisly plot unfolds, and the sheer irresistible force of O’Rowe’s writing takes hold. It is no exaggeration to say that he finds real tragedy in the lives of these marginalised anti-heroes.

The set, by Xinyuan Li, is deceptively simple. Almost nothing on stage but a wooden stool, ready to be hurled around in frustration and rage, or hidden behind as a pathetic defence. The play is staged in the round, and there is a suggestion of a boxing ring in a small square in the middle of the floor – there is much combat on display, whether Marquis of Queensbury rules or not. The rest of the stage floor is subtly coloured, perhaps suggesting the floor of a nightclub or bar, and, of course, there are suggestive hints of blood.

The piece is structured as two monologues – characters and plot lines will recur in each. First up is The Howie Lee, his very name a provocation to convention. Full of righteous indignation, always ready to blaze into full-blown rage, he struts the stage like a caged animal that might at any moment escape and unleash his fury. With shaved head and hooligan leisure wear he is a coiled spring. But he also has a ferocious sense of justice – if he has been wronged, as he has been by The Rookie Lee, the perpetrator must be punished, however ridiculous the crime. If anything, to be ridiculed and to lose face and status is the worst crime of all. When his monologue comes to an almost unbearable climax, the audience is too stunned to respond.

After the interval, there is a distinct tone shift as The Rookie Lee tells his side of the story. A suave charmer in contrast to Howie, we now hear his take on the characters and events we have already encountered. O’Rowe does not, however, insist that we retrace our steps entirely. Time has moved on, and the overlap helps us to round out the character and motivation of our protagonists. Again the narrative has the power of tragedy as though the unavoidable thread of fate is spooling out in the lives of these hapless characters. The vividness of the language conjures up images of awful violence and death. But he allows some twisted redemptive hope to shine through at the end, in spite of the horror. This is a worthy revival of a breathtaking and awe-inspiring play.

Howie The Rookie is running at The Cockpit, Gateforth Street, London NW8 8EH until Saturday 2nd May