Frank McGuinness's new memory play for the Abbey Theatre, Do You Come from Gomorrah?, is a disturbing exploration of abuse and prejudice set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The unnamed narrator, Man, played by Ryan Donaldson, reflects on his 1970s youth, stating that the past 'does not belong to me'.
The narrative unfolds in fragmented recollections: from his early years with a violent, alcohol-addicted mother to his time in a residential care home for teenage boys run by a sadistic sexual abuser known as Beastie Billy. The boys endure Billy's Old Testament-infused sectarian and misogynist rhetoric, while being pimped at night to members of the British security forces.
Directed by Sarah Baxter, the production is staged in the intimate Peacock auditorium. Donaldson's self-contained performance adds intensity to the bleak story. The monologue is performed on a dark, coffin-like slab against a grey panelled backdrop, with Sinéad McKenna's subtle lighting denoting changes in time and space.
While the play alludes to the infamous Kincora Boys' Home in Belfast, it never names it, allowing the narrator's painful story to suggest a wider shared experience of gay men coming of age before homosexuality was decriminalised in Northern Ireland. Amid the damage, there is love and passionate longing that propels the young man onwards.
