We’re Staying Right Here at Park Theatre

When looking at the topics that We’re Staying Right Here covers in its duration – suicide, mental health and abuse – one would think the audience would leave Park Theatre depressed and having felt like they’d received a heavy-handed lecture, but instead they are gripped from start to finish.

Not many plays hoping to tackle such weighty subjects would open with a man wearing a red cape delivering a barrage of cheesy jokes to an audience, a particular zinger being “I burned 100 calories today…I left my pizza in the oven too long!”. However, we soon learn that this man, Matt (Danny Kirrane), is a failed comedian and one of life’s victims who is constantly bullied by the two other men he shares a flat with.

The two other men in question are the delightfully manipulative Tristabel (Tom Canton), who uses words as his weapon, and the terrifying Benzies (Daniel Portman), who just uses violence. While nothing is ever spelled out for us, we learn that the three characters cannot leave Matt’s flat as a war is raging outside and their only chance of survival is to climb a mysterious ladder to the unknown.

Considering there is just one basic setting and only three characters (until Liam Smith’s mysterious stranger joins them in act two), it is the razor-sharp dialogue and fantastic performances that keep this morbidly dark yet utterly hilarious piece going. While most plays tend to have a lull at some point in their runtime, We’re Staying Right Here manages to keep the viewer engrossed and even fearful of what is around the next corner.

Without giving too much away, as part of the play’s delight is the reveal even if it is fairly obvious where it is heading, Matt is a character who is suffering with unresolved issues both externally and internally and his evolution throughout the piece is worth the price of admission alone.

We’re Staying Right Here is a perfect play that has something to say about some serious issues, but with a unique and beautiful voice.

Dan Struthers
Photo: David Gill

We’re Staying Right Here is at Park Theatre from 26^th February until 23^rd March 2019. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for We’re Staying Right here here: