Very rarely can a man drink two pints of Guinness in under two hours and still be perfectly coherent. Shay Duffin, however, exposes his Irish roots, managing just this in his show "Brendan Behan: Confession of an Irish Rebel."
Highly comedic and immensely engaging, Duffin portrays Behan, a famous author and playwright born in Dublin in 1923. From the age of 16, Behan was very active in the IRA, and subsequently spent a total of nine years in prison.
Shay Duffin, also a Dubliner, has written and continues to perform a one-man show based on the Behan's life. Duffin depicts Behan roughly six months before his alcoholism-related death in 1964, when he was just 41 years old. Duffin, as Behan, recalls the previous years of his life using excerpts from Behan's prolific writing, in addition to multiple Irish songs.
Behan was famous to some and infamous to others. "He was certainly well-known around Dublin, as he was a published poet by the time he was 12," Duffin said. "He was known for his involvement with the revolution. And he would cause a little bit of a fight here and again."
Duffin's performance is, simply put, outstanding. Through incredible voice work and affectation of body language, he effectively plays many more characters than just Behan. Old women, judges and French prostitutes come to life through his facial expressions and multiple accents. "I observe people," Duffin said when asked how he learns his characterizations. "Everybody I do is someone you've met on the street."
But the character who steals this one-man show is its narrator, Behan, whom Duffin remembers from childhood. "I used to see him stumbling home from the pub as a child. I would avoid him," Duffin said, explaining that he based his show largely on this first-hand observation.
"[The show] didn't take too much research, but my mother went down and spoke with his mother, who gave us some stories," Duffin said. "So the research wasn't that hard. I had so much material. Editing was more difficult than researching."
Growing up in Dublin, Duffin was surrounded by many Irish literary legends. "There were so many within a half mile of where I lived. There was James Joyce directly behind us and Brendan down the road, and across the way was Oscar Wilde's old house," Duffin said.
Duffin has been involved with the arts since childhood, when he began working as a singer. He continued to sing Irish folk music until he realized that its popularity was waning. He then decided to return to theater, and proceeded to write his show. Apart from "Brendan Behan: Confession of an Irish Rebel," Duffin has appeared in many movies including "The Departed" (2006) and "Titanic" (1997), as well as multiple television shows. It is clear, however, that his interest in the life of Behan has not diminished.
"Confession of an Irish Rebel" presents three distinct stages of Behan throughout his life: his storytelling, his rebellion and his decline. Perhaps the best demonstration of Duffin's acting abilities lies towards the end of the show, as Behan grows more and more intoxicated.
"[Behan was] a terrible alcoholic, a total alcoholic. He was into alcohol from the time he was 10. His granny used to send him down to the local pub with a big jug to get whiskey, and he'd be sipping from it by the time he got back," Duffin said, "Afterwards, after he spent nine years in jail, he always needed company, and the company was always at the pub."
Behan's drinking problem didn't prevent him from writing. He completed six plays, five books and one song before his death.
"Brendan was brilliant," Duffin said, "He had a brilliant mind, and it's a shame that it was wiped out by the time he was 41."
At the end of the show, Duffin makes the effects of his character's alcoholism very apparent. He has spit on his lips and his gaze wanders. He looks as if he will fall down any second.
"Nurses and doctors have come to the edge of the stage to try and help me," Duffin said.
Don't be fooled - this Irishman could out-drink any seasoned fraternity brother, but he certainly isn't an alcoholic. If anything, his long-standing relationship with his character has led him to understand, and even fear, the effects of extreme drinking.
"I learn a lot from the show, and when [Behan and I] meet some nights, I'm even frightened," Duffin said, "But I always leave it all in the dressing room. Otherwise, I'd be dead by now."
Though he plans to continue on with his show, Duffin has other aspirations for the future.
"I'm trying to turn myself into a writer. It's a lonely life, writing. Everything is an interruption, even getting tea," Duffin said.
No matter where his future takes him, Duffin will always have ties to the past. His show is educational, moving and above all, entertaining.
