Synopsis
The Good Thief is a gripping one-man play by Conor McPherson that follows an unnamed small-time thug from Dublin whose life unravels after a simple job goes disastrously wrong. As he recounts the story in raw, conversational detail, a portrait emerges of a man haunted by guilt, betrayal, and the faint hope of redemption. Blending dark humour with lyrical storytelling, The Good Thief captures the confessional intimacy and moral tension of a man trying to make sense of the violence he has committed and the humanity he cannot escape.
Reviews
“Played with great charm by Brian d’Arcy James, the Dublin thug somehow manages to be extremely likable even as he describes some of the bad things he’s done. James, best known for his musical roles in Titanic and MTC’s The Wild Party, possesses good looks and a commanding stage presence that helps woo the audience to his side. At the same time, his piercingly intense gaze and unshaven face suggest the dangerous edge needed to make the character believable.”
TheatreMania
“James, who initially garnered attention for his portrayal of the lovesick stoker in the Broadway musical “Titanic,” and last season played the male lead in another musical, Andrew Lippa’s off-Broadway version of “The Wild Party” at Manhattan Theatre Club, has totally, almost eerily, transformed himself for the purposes of “The Good Thief.” Gone is the slick image of the romantic leading man in musicals, and in its stead the stubbly, aggressive, relentlessly dangerous aura of a conscienceless miscreant, someone vaguely deranged, and most definitely an individual you wouldn’t want to encounter in an unlighted urban alleyway.”
The Irish Echo