Marriage, is it worth it? That magical moment of tying the knot with that one person who you’ll spend the rest of your life with. We all know it’s a daunting task. And it gets worse, because even if you do tie the knot, what if it starts to loosen?
What if your partner is unfaithful? What if you’re having doubts? Are these instant cases for divorce? Or do you hold off because you’ve got kids now and your whole life is deeply intertwined with one another?
There are a thousand other potential pitfalls to his holy matrimony and Dan Daniel’s play at the Old Red Lion Theatre considers them through the eyes of two likeable male characters.
Coming from different backgrounds and life stages – Imran Basra (Alyaz Ahmed) is a nervous friendly thirty something Muslim who’s Indian wife of twenty years has cheated on him.
In contrast, Aiden Hayes (Caolán Dudon) a twenty something aspiring actor and Irishman is working on getting his Argentinian fiancée’s visa application approved.
On the whole, the show feels more like a stand-up comedy routine, which works great for Caolán Dudon who has an instinctive understanding of landing his lines for full comedic impact. Alyaz Ahmed has other attributes to offer and while he rushes his lines at the start, by the end, he’s given a great account of a man struggling with the dilemma of not wanting his life to fall apart.
Through the use of alternate and amusing monologues the two characters breakdown their stories and in this intimate environment, the evening is an enjoyable one. However, it feels as though Dan Daniel has missed a trick by not offering a female perspective, especially because these gentlemen’s other halves have just as interesting thoughts to offer on the matter.
Overall, no matter what happens, people will continue to marry and continue to divorce. The Knot brings the very best and the very worst out of people and if we can’t laugh about it, then it can’t be worth it.
Fortunately, it is and we can.
Jamie Kutner
Jamie Kutner joined the Upper Circle team in May 2019. After an unconventional route into writing via a Quantity Surveying degree and time spent teaching English in Vietnam, Jamie is now working towards forging a career as a screenwriter, playwright and critic. He favours dramas or comedies and cites Simon Stephens as a major inspiration. He also has an inbuilt love for musicals and will proudly confess he has seen Wicked five times.
