Molly Sweeney Captivates With a Touching, Bittersweet Tale

Too often, the ability to change a situation captures our imagination and takes over rational thought before we’ve had the time to consider whether that change is for the best. Or if that change is something we actually want. Such is the case in Molly Sweeney by Irish playwright Brian Friel. Albion Theatre, which primarily produces plays from the UK, captures this logical and emotional conflict in an effectively compelling production directed by company founder Robert Ashton.

Molly Sweeney has been blind since she was 10 months old, yet she manages to navigate her world with confidence and relative ease. Naturally, there are longings, questions and a multitude of challenges as she moves through the sighted world, but there’s a sense of comfort and wellbeing in her life. Approaching middle age, she is relatively happy with her marriage to Frank, her friendships and her occupation as a massage therapist. Frank, however, is a wannabe hero always looking for his next project. This compulsion leads to an appointment with Mr. Rice, a noted eye surgeon who’s recently taken residence at the local hospital. Intrigued by Molly’s condition and the possibility of restoring her vision, the doctor agrees to examine and then operate on Molly.

While the procedures do not fully restore her sight, they are nonetheless a success — at least initially. As the story progresses, the doctor battles his affection for the bottle while dreaming of redemption among his peers. Frank is supportive, but begins to look for a new opportunity to be the hero far away from County Donegal. Molly struggles to adjust, finding comfort in retreat and the warmth of memory and darkness.

Maggie Wininger is captivating and convincing as Molly, and her portrayal of blindness is remarkable in its believability and lack of prosthetics or dark glasses. There’s an easy charm to her manner and a certainty of movement that emphasizes Molly’s misgivings about the sighted experience. Wininger fully embraces the poetic cadence of Friel’s script to the point that the audience often sees the world as Molly does, particularly through descriptions of the plants and flowers she adores and recollections of her courtship and early days with Frank. While Rice and Frank often proclaim that she “has nothing to lose,” Molly convincingly questions what it is she has to gain.

Paul Gutting is sympathetic as a surgeon with blunted but not abandoned ambition, his senses dulled through betrayal and addiction. CJ Langdon easily captures Frank’s delusion of heroism, his constant need for a project to conquer and the way he expresses that need though controlling behaviors and obsessive but shallow research. Frank’s an ebullient, enthusiastic fellow, full of facts and unfounded certainty but unable to comprehend the important distinction between seeing and understanding.

The intimate and deeply personal Molly Sweeney offers audiences a glimpse into the psyche of a blind person as well as the opportunity to reflect on the benefits and drawbacks of our own abilities and challenges. Albion Theatre’s production and Wininger’s deeply connected performance ensure that this lovely but tragic play lingers long after the final bow.

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