The Two Sides of Eddie Ramone, is as the title might suggest, a play built on conflict and tension. We see the titular character (played by Chris Sullivan), a formerly popular comedian now consigned to the cruise ship circuit, switch between his interior and exterior facing selves. And, alongside the play’s only other character, his daughter Katie (Shian Denovan), the piece sets up a fraught mirroring of recollections and intentions. Notwithstanding some flaws, the show is a thoughtful look how we build our realities and sense of self.

The subject matter is fiercely interior. The action opens on Eddie rattling through his tired stage performance when he suddenly finds he is having an out of body experience. This capitulates him inside his own head, where he starts to ruminate on his career and family relationships and builds a stylised life story constructed through his curated memories. It is striking that, even during his deepest ruminations, he is still performing to the audience, never quite able to let go of his on stage persona.

Later in the play his daughter joins him and adds her own clashing counter narrative, gradually unpicking the version of events that Eddie has built up in the first act. It is a deft manoeuvre from Sullivan, who also wrote and directed the show, and leaves the audience revising their interpretation to the very end. However some aspects feel a tad convenient and the narrative, trying to pack too much in, verges close to being implausible. The strong performances from Sullivan and Denovan, though, are able to paper over any cracks in the premise’s believability.

Eddie is of Irish descent and the work’s concerns are, too, staunchly in the Irish dramatic tradition. Catholicism, guilt, abuse, alcoholism and fear death are all writ large. The vision and thematic reach are grand in their scope, but there are some aspects of the execution which mean it falls short of its ambition. As the work unfolds entirely as a recollection, its main means of storytelling is through anecdote. These sometimes meander and run away with themselves and you catch yourself wondering what the point of all this exposition is, as it often adds little to the narrative thrust.

Despite a few unanswered questions, The Two Sides of Eddie Ramone’s chief interest is in its thoughtful character studies by the two performers. If you can overlook a few bizarre moments, it’s worth a look for their evocation of a troubled father-daughter relationship and the new light shed on it when it is remembered and retold.

 

The Two Sides of Eddie Ramone is playing Jermyn Street Theatre until 30 July. For more information and tickets, see the Jermyn Street Theatre website.