Howie The Rookie

Howie The Rookie is an intimate piece of theatre, surprisingly active for a work that is literally composed of two men, two monologues, two chairs.

The underground Dublin setting is brought to life by director Toby Schmitz and his cast, Andrew Henry as the Howie Lee, Sean Hawkins as the Rookie Lee. Hawkins sips from his beer, seated in an Adidas tracksuit, half-listening to Henry as he tells the first half of the story in a lilting Irish accent that is alive with the poetry of Mark O'Rowe's words. Henry moves about the stage with the posture of a man taught to fight, eagerly joining Peaches and Ali on their quest to get the Rookie Lee. The reason? Rookie Lee gave them scabies. The next day, a changed Howie Lee, in an attempt to atone for his much greater sins than a simple beating, insists in the Rookie Lee's monologue on helping him out of debt (and the loss of his kneecaps), caused by the trampling of a pair of fighting fish.   

That all of this can be captured in two running monologues, by two actors, on a stage redesigned by Luke Cowling, which features an upturned chair, a pile of bottle caps, then kicked across the stage, and a blood spatter against cold brick, dark negative space, is a testament to the strength and vividness of O'Rowe's writing.