Niamh in Dublin-Eureka Day at the Gate

As someone who has spent most of their time in the Gate sequestered to the tech box, having the experience of being a punter rather than an operator was one I really missed. The Gate is such a beautiful building in and of itself, and has – rare in the theatre world – bar prices that are not as eye-watering as they could have been. 

With the show itself at a comfortable runtime of an hour and forty-five minutes, it was setting up to be a great experience as soon as I got the Jameson and ginger in hand. 

Eureka Day focuses on a small, private, socially-engaged school in the US, where an outbreak of the mumps tests the PTA’s “live and let live” approach to the students’ vaccination records. Something that could have turned into a heavy-handed dissection of the ethics of mandatory vaccinations was instead buoyed by sharp writing and an incredible cast, leaving the audience laughing throughout, especially in one particular scene involving a Zoom meeting gone awry with a clever use of tech and live camera feeds. It’s a wonderful demonstration of how trying to serve everyone can ultimately service no one, as the committee tangles itself up in trying to be politically correct to the point of hindering any actual decisions being made. 

Phillipa Dunne as Suzanne stands out as the overbearing PTA president, with one particular scene explaining her aversion to vaccines adding a needed emotional depth to the character. As the principal Don says – brilliantly portrayed by Stephen Brennan, who perfectly captures the character’s well-meaning but ineffective conflict resolution style – “there are no villains here.” Each character is fleshed out to allow the audience to identify with each in turn, with a strong ensemble performance throughout as the actors play off each other seamlessly with rapid-fire dialogue. The production is supported by Loren Elstein’s incredibly detailed set, lending a strong sense of place and a hundred tiny details that you could spend all day examining.

The ending gives us the sense of a cycle beginning anew as a new term of the PTA begins, doubtlessly with its own set of challenges to uncover. We can be very sure of this as the play concludes at the beginning of the 2019/2020 school year – we might need a sequel to see how Eureka Day manages the Covid vaccine debate!

While Eureka Day has finished at The Gate there are wonderful productions coming up such as Oscar Wilde’s “An Ideal Husband” and “The Brightening Air” starring our very own Chris O’Dowd. 

More info can be found here – https://gatetheatre.ie/