A Man of No Importance - Lauriston Studio

IT’S not often you meet an Alfie Byrne, a man on a mission to share his deep seated love of culture with the passengers on his bus, allowing him to enjoy a sort of cult status as he takes the ‘r’ out of routine.

Alfie is a conductor on a well used route into 60’s Dublin. I can remember a driver who used to treat my journey as if he was piloting a plane to far flung, sun kissed shores.

But Alfie, the leading character in this moving, life affirming musical is far more than a culture junkie, as he battles draconian church leaders to bring a production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome to the amateur stage.

Our vulnerable hero is living a lie in far less enlightened times and the performance of Conor Collins, one of the best I’ve seen in 30 plus years of reviewing productions at Altrincham Garrick, ensures we the audience warm to him and are desperate he achieves his hopes and dreams.

Collins and his fellow cast members also make full use of a script which is written from the heart and avoids the predictable cliches and the cringeworthy.

I really liked Tom Broughton as Alfie’s ally in chief, Robbie Fay and Madeleine Healey who appears out of nowhere to spur Alfie’s theatrical dream. Will Teller also has quite a presence as Carney.

With no persuasion needed I would willingly watch this again thanks in no small part to director Barry Purves, equally accomplished at directing as he is to design.

In my previous life as a reviewer for the Messenger I was reluctant to give productions five stars too often because it can rener such adulation meaningless, but it would be churlish not to do so here.

I reviewed my first production here in 1987 - for me this is the best season yet.

Until March 30. Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk.

Star rating - *****

Photo - Martin Ogden.