In this production, laughter does not leaven the darker issues it smothers them. Far too much is presented as broad, almost pantomime like fun, the deeper import of many lines being lost since played for laughs. Even main characters like Aisling’s husband, Tony, is a mere cypher. However, like several of the characters, the themes are inadequately developed. Serious themes such as state repression of women, marital violence, sexual impotence, the value of enduring friendship between two women, abortion… these and many more issues are included. That is not to say it won’t be enjoyed by many: predictably it was greeted with a cheering standing ovation. It doesn’t work not as a piece of theatre. Shay Linehan’s adaptation attempts to shoehorn all the main plot lines into a single coherent drama. What Peter Sheridan’s production of her Light A Penny Candle shows above all is just how difficult it is to adapt a novel – especially one with so wide and deep a sweep as this one – and to forge it into a play. Over forty years ago, with the brilliant film of Maeve Binchy’s Deeply Regretted By and even in her little one-act play End of Term, Binchy showed her magical touch in conjuring up believable characters and engaging situations, the stuff of real theatre. Light A Penny Candle – Gaiety Theatre – Review by Paddy McGovern
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