A one-man play tells a multitude of stories

Howie the Rookie is an 80-minute single-actor play directed by Mark O’Hove and performed by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, currently playing in The Barbican Centre’s Pit Theatre. The piece won two prizes, attracted critical acclaim, and also won the Irish Times Best New Play award.

Vaughan-Lawlor played one character - Howie - then in the second half of the play switched to Rookie; during this, sometimes he played others, sometimes he did not. But we know others existed, because he both mentions them while he was acting, and also since social interactions with other people were expressed by Vaughan-Lower’s original character. After this long and complicated diatribe, aimed at explaining how one actor can give birth to several ones who are playing different characters, one is very likely to ask if the storyline can be followed. The answer is yes; partly because of the wonderful acting (more about this later) and partly because of the barely existing storyline. The plot the writer wants to convey is a mixture of short stories; situations based around one guy or two. He depicts a bunch of hopeless guys and girls, and their way of living; it is sometimes funny, or eye-opening, or truly sad, or even all at the same time.

That being said, the storyline and the characters could be enhanced. There was perhaps too much in terms of swearing or fighting, making it difficult to find a character with whom one could sympathise. But this must be attributed to the ruthlessness and the candidness of the play and is a consequence of its topic. If you want to see a romantic fairytale with your loved one as a christmas treat, this play might be one to avoid.

But if you are bored with the mainstream theatre, and want something innovative, special and modern, you have just found it here. The play is definitely funny, if you are able to stomach its novelty; what makes the story a lot more involving is Vaughan-Lawlor’s amazing acting (and it wasn’t just me that thought this - one lady used that term at least five times afterwards to express her admiration), the fast dance-like movements, the use of tone, and the mysterious lightning, which combine to make the drama, the action and the whole story lively and irresistibly involving - despite the fact that there is only one man on the stage. Due to Vaughan-Lower’s strong presence you start to feel you know the characters, you grasp the plot and, by the end of the play, the story is your own.

Howie the Rookie is on in The Pit Theatre at Barbican, until 29th November. Tickets are £18 for adults; students can gain a discount through the Young Barbican scheme.