Putting masculinity under the microscope in Certified Male: (from left) Nicholas Grennell, John Ryan, Vincent McCabe and Ben Palmer
Director Terry O'Connell knew he had a theatrical hit on his hands when during an early performance of his play, Certified Male, a young man in the audience stood up and shouted (during a crucial scene): "That's me - that's exactly the way I behave." Rather embarrassed by his act of public contrition, the young man then sat down and got on with enjoying the action unfolding in front of him. For O'Connell, it was proof that a supreme form of connection between play and audience had been achieved.
When the play first opened in Australia two years ago, it was credited with attracting a new type of punter to the theatre. Although a light and popular comedy, between all the laughs there was a debate going on about the current state of the male species. Inspired by Steve Biddulp's book, Manhood: An Action Plan For Changing Men's Lives, the play is a sort of walking-talking male version of Cosmopolitan magazine - asking and answering those questions about the male condition that are normally edited out of bar-room conversation.
Jollied along with mime and music, Certified Male is getting its European premiere at the Tivoli Theatre with an all-Irish cast (Ben Palmer, John M. Ryan, Nicholas Grennell and Vincent McCabe in the lead roles). Billed as a must-see for "women, people in relationships, employed people, men who wear suits, people who live in houses and dysfunctional families", the show has proved to be such a box-office hit in Australia that, following its Irish run, it travels to Britain, Germany and the US, with more stops planned.
The basic plot sees Jarrad, the managing director of a successful corporation, taking three of his staff to a conference at a tropical resort, where the restructuring of the firm is on the agenda. All is not quite as it seems. Jarrad is dying (which the others don't know) and the stay becomes a journey of self-exploration where masculinity is put under a microscope. The three younger characters are well fleshed out - Alex, timid and a bit of a wimp, who tries to keep everyone pleased all the time; McBride, sexist and silly, now on his third wife, who has problems with his anger control; and Howard, the egotistical woman-chaser, who's younger and a bit groovier than the other two. Their boss, Jarrad, plays mentor, cautioning and encouraging as he sees fit.
The four fish, play golf, and socialise together at the resort. Ostensibly, the younger three are concerned about their roles in the company restructuring plan but, as the play progresses, their conversations take many turns as guards are dropped and true colours emerge.
Chock full of one-liners, the play perhaps descends from the sublime to the ridiculous a bit too often for its own good, but for O'Connell, the humorous presentation is the core of the show: "The whole debate about the position of modern man is very interesting and there's a lot of very different viewpoints out there from the so-called `men's movement' to the `new lad' figure," he says. "It's a serious subject but in the play we are using popular comedy theatre to explore it. There were a lot of workshops and tryouts before the show got up and running and in those, we found the dialogue worked best based on a humorous level. There was also the added fact that the play is Australian and there's a certain stereotype of the Aussie male, which is a bit ludicrous, but nevertheless added that extra dimension."
More or less running non-stop in Australia since it started, Certified Male has been described as a "group hug", whose material raises the question of whether the audience is laughing at the portrayal of men, or their own identification with the characters on stage - or even at a part of themselves they don't really understand. Definitely not an exercise in educating men about sexual politics, or even attempting to knock down gender boundaries, it's more about cute observations about male behaviour that have a genuine resonance.
For the first performances of the show outside Australia, O'Connell opted for Ireland. "I think there's a kinship between the two countries and also a kinship between the Australian male and the Irish male - in that they've both been stereotyped as beer-drinking, insensitive types. "We didn't have to make too many changes to the script for Irish audiences, just the odd tinkering here and there. I think, though, that the Irish cast bring a whole new tempo and feel to the show."
What has surprised O'Connell with audiences is not that a lot of males recognise themselves in the characters on stage, but that women seem to enjoy the show more than men. "It's something that women rarely get to see on the stage - a real up-close and personal account of the male psyche. Quite often, I've seen women in the audience nudge their partners during the show and say, `he's just like you' or `that's exactly the way you talk about things'. I suppose it's kind of ironic that a play about men by men is being most appreciated by women."
Certified Male is at The Tivoli Theatre, Dublin, until the end of January. Booking: 01-4544472. It will tour Ireland later this year.
