"In 'The Saviour,' Marie Mullen shows impressive range, channeling Molly Bloom in a fist-pumping soliloquy about having sex as a sexagenarian one minute, chiding herself for “acting ridiculous” the next."
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“Ms. Kinahan, whose writing delineates her two characters and their fraught relationship vividly, does not draw the connection too literally, but we become piteously aware that Máire’s lifelong devotion to her spiritual protector has made her vulnerable to a need to find an earthly one.”
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“Director Louise Lowe has supported her two actors with a relatively no-frills production...It’s fully in keeping with a production that remains sensitive to character even as it challenges its audience to question, among other things, their own limits of forgiveness.”
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"After its captivating opening, the later, more dramatic portion of The Saviour feels saggy and overloaded… Still, the cornered Máire's counterpunching is something to see. A notably poorly integrated personality, she ultimately explodes, sending shards of fury and denial in all directions. In Mullen's hands, she is especially intimidating when venting her rage at being written off as an old lady or, abandoning any pretense of maternal affection, hurling homophobic epithets at Mel. It's a pyrotechnic performance by a formidable talent at the peak of her powers."
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“ ‘The Saviour’ could do with more nuance of character and detail of setting, and perhaps less of Máire's aimless musings. But if we're going to have aimless musings, there's no one we'd rather have delivering them than Marie Mullen.”
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“How Máire reacts in the remaining 70 minutes, how her religious convictions in regard to her beloved Jesus prevail – or don’t– won’t be revealed here. But Mullen’s superior performance as an aging woman holding tenaciously to the possibility of new romance is further enhanced, just as religion is kept from gaining any kind of upper hand.”
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“In ‘Saviour,’ Kinahan has crafted another testament to the enduring impact the moral hypocrisy and sheer cruelty practiced in the laundries had on the lives on those who suffered there.”
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“Deirdre Kinahan provides in ’The Saviour’ what, essentially, amounts to two plays in one, closely related as they may be. Considering the opportunity it offers Marie Mullen to demonstrate her exceptional gifts, it’s guaranteed to make a trip to West 22nd Street well worth the effort. Cross my heart.”
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