"Marin Ireland gives a performance of beautiful complexity in 'Ironbound'...a quietly gripping play...Ms. Majok’s perceptive drama, with its bone-dry humor and vivid characters, illustrates how vulnerable people like Darja are, hostages to the vagaries of chance, unless they can manage to climb out of poverty. Ms. Ireland positively vibrates with the force of will that keeps Darja moving...'Ironbound' has been directed with economy and delicacy by Daniella Topol."
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"Majok’s topical and insightful drama, skillfully directed by Daniella Topol, moves back and forth in time to show us a younger Darja...Onstage for all 85 minutes of the play—and wrung through a harsh machinery of pride, hope, desperation and regret—the excellent Ireland digs in and delivers a tough, moving portrait of a woman stuck in place."
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"Rising star Marin Ireland’s stirring and consistently believable performance as Darja, a Polish immigrant holding on for dear life amid crises with men and money, gives the intriguing work by Martyna Majok a sharp focal point...As directed by Daniella Topol, the three men inhabit their roles with an intensity that matches Ireland’s."
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"Ireland anchors the non-linear drama with an emotional fierceness that inextricably draws you into her character's plight...The lack of a sustained narrative makes the play drag at times. But its slower patches are compensated for by some genuinely moving moments...Director Daniella Topol reveals an authentic feel for the play's gritty milieu, and the male actors make vivid impressions in their smaller roles. But it's Ireland who's the standout of the production."
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"Even though we encounter Darja at various times over nearly 20 years, she never really ages or changes...Still, Ireland is, as always, a force of nature…The director, Daniella Topol, clearly has a sharp eye for casting…Even at its weakest, 'Ironbound' offers a view into the lives of characters we rarely see on stage, and they are rendered with considerable perception and wit. It would be nice, however, if this collection of scenes from one woman's life added up to a more complete portrait."
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"What saves 'Ironbound' from becoming oppressively depressing is Majok's flair for finding humor in the hubris of her characters. Although much of the play, even at eighty minutes, seems overwritten and often redundant, it ultimately finds its pace under director Daniella Topol. Ireland, who has never turned in a less than a memorable performance, lashes out in barrages of motor-mouthed vitriol with a Polish accent that are as laughable as they are lacerating."
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"Darja is played with rawness and vigor by Marin Ireland… Ireland’s performance is riveting and heartfelt from beginning to end…Daniella Topol has procured truthful performances from her actors who drive the story from beginning to end....Topol’s production is peppered with private moments that reveal deep, glaring truths about the characters’ inner lives...'Ironbound' is unsettling and unapologetic, and is most notably grounded by a visceral and electric performance from Marin Ireland."
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"Under Daniella Topol’s clear-eyed direction, all the performances are rich; the salty, and sometimes funny, dialogue has the snap and crackle of working-class and broken English; and Marin Ireland, on stage throughout, offers a rainbow of strengths and vulnerabilities. Dramatic development, however, takes a back seat to character depiction, and the effect is more a sequence of lively scenes than an emotionally absorbing or very convincing play about an immigrant’s struggle to survive."
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