By Aimee Donnelly.
Buffini’s dark comedy lands with precision as strong performances and direction drive a standout production
It was showtime this week as the drama society kicked off its production season with the play ‘Dinner’ originally written by English playwright Moira Buffini. Directed by Aisling Dillon Roberts, the play was sharp, unsettling and deeply funny. The dark comedy leaned into all the awkwardness and ego of a disastrous dinner party.
Producer Sean Tannam recalled sneaking into the auditorium near the end of rehearsals and feeling a spark of excitement as he watched the final moments with all the props and furniture in place.
“To know where every single item was sourced and how to watch it all come together was a joy to see.”
Stepping into producing for the first time had been a leap for him “I was used to performing…but becoming responsible for ensuring everyone else is on schedule was by far the most difficult challenge”.
Andrea Hickey delivered a standout performance as Paige: icy, cunning, and increasingly unhinged as the dinner spiralled out of control. She admitted that “learning the lines was difficult,” especially since Paige “talks a whole lot of nonsense” before suddenly going silent for pages. Paired with a “posh English accent,” Andrea said her “brain was scrambled.”
Yet her performance didn’t show a hint of strain. She balanced Paige’s brittleness and fury with amazing comedic timing, especially during the explosive confrontations with Aaron Prendergast’s character Lars.
Those confrontations were a highlight for Aaron, his favourite moment, he said, was “the argument between me and Andrea over the character of Mike staying for dinner, [it was] always just good fun to pretend to be super angry with your mates.”
Aaron Prendergast himself played Paige’s husband Lars with the perfect blend of pompous irritation and intellectual snobbery. Though at first the English accent nearly defeated him, he said he “really struggled with it at the start” and kept “slipping out of it”, though he ultimately delivered a brilliant performance.
Luke Burke’s character Mike brought a different kind of chaos: anxious, awkward, and unintentionally hilarious. Luke admitted his biggest fear had been forgetting everything as soon as he stepped onstage, but that nervous energy worked perfectly for Mike. His favourite moment was when he got to “yell and swear”: something he described as “very fun, very releasing.”
Therese McCormack’s character Sian really grounded the play. Therease said her biggest challenge was “trying to keep a straight face during some of the more chaotic moments,” and that she loves playing a character who “tries so hard to stay calm while everything around her completely falls apart.”
Ellen Donovan brought a unique charm and an enormous amount of laughter throughout the play as Wynne, always trying to break the tension whenever it appeared. Hugh Mullins’ Hal, on the other hand, leaned into pure English snobbery; he said his favourite part was “making Hal as whiny as possible,” a choice that also earned him plenty of laughs.
Matthew Dowdall played The Waiter with an unsettling quietness about him that underscored the play’s darker edge. He said the audition had been the most difficult part, “I was very nervous”, but once he met the rest of the cast, they “made me feel like I was home.”
His favourite moment, surprisingly, was the final twist of the show. “Killing Paige in the final scene,” he said, was not only the pivotal moment for his character but also “the climax of the whole show….so it was pretty fun.”
What stood out the most in their production of dinner was the camaraderie between everyone. Andrea said that getting to work with “people I started my DCU Drama journey with was really special,” and that sense of togetherness came through in every scene.
Dinner was a tricky play, one that exudes emotional subtlety, comedic timing, and requires the audience’s ability to navigate the pendulum swing of satire and sincerity. The result was a production that showcased not only the talent of its cast but also the talent of the production team and director, who successfully made this play as entertaining and memorable as possible.
Image Credits: Aimee Donnelly