Rosie Sheehy (Billie), Brian Gleeson (Stephen), Chris O’Dowd (Dermot) and Aisling Kearns (Freya) in The Brightening Air at The Old Vic (2025) [Manuel Harlan]

THE BRIGHTENING AIR
The Old Vic
☆☆☆

Chekhov’s tragicomedy Uncle Vanya haunts Conor McPherson’s new play with its four-act structure, family dynamics, a crumbling estate and characters consumed by unrequited love or impossible dreams.

Set in 1980s rural Ireland, Stephen (Brian Gleeson) and his autistic sister Billie (Rosie Sheehy, outstanding) live in the family’s decrepit farm house.

Their brother Dermot (Chris O’Dowd) managed to get away and now owns some local cafés and shops. He returns for a family reunion accompanied by Freya (Aisling Kearns), a young employee with whom he is having an affair, while his estranged wife Lydia (Hannah Morrish) looks on helplessly.

In desperation, Lydia hopes enchanted water from a magic spring on the farm will help win back Dermot’s love and she pays Stephen to find some for her.

The arrival of their blind uncle Pierre (Seán McGinley), a former clergyman, and his housekeeper Elizabeth (Derbhle Crotty) upends the household – especially when Pierre unexpectedly regains his sight.

Eimhin Fitzgerald Doherty as Brendan, a local farmhand and possible love interest for Billie, completes the ensemble.

The Brightening Air (a quote from WB Yeats’ poem The Song of Wandering Aengus) treads a familiar path. Sibling rivalries jostle with tensions over inheritance, intensified by several characters’ inability to face reality and fear of change.

McPherson (who also directs) allows every character their moment.

The first act is a slow burn and his blocking – ensuring the cast faces out to the audience – occasionally feels contrived.

There is not always enough space for us to build empathy and ultimately several threads of McPherson story are left hanging. But compelling performances anchor and add depth to this bittersweet drama.

Until June 14
oldvictheatre.com