Alexis
Soloski

January 26, 2015

If you have to be haunted, you really couldn’t ask for a nicer sort of ghost. The specter at the heart of Hugh Leonard’s semi-autobiographical play Da, revived by the Irish Repertory Theater, pours piping cups of tea and proffers packs of cigarettes. Most of the time he lounges in his favorite armchair, singing snatches of songs and telling jokes. This friendly ghoul is the Da of the title, of course, a retired gardener, jovial and unambitious. Just because he’s been laid to rest doesn’t mean he has any intention of leaving alone his adopted son, Charlie (an adept Ciaran O’Reilly, who has played the role in an earlier revival). Charlie, a successful writer, can hardly wait to zip back to civilized London. But as he sorts through his father’s papers and photographs and unused razors, he’s bothered by a fright of ghosts — not only his adoptive da (Paul O’Brien), but also his adoptive mother (Fiana Toibin), his former boss (Sean Gormley), his younger self (Adam Petherbridge) — crowding around the kitchen table. A memory play with a spectral turn, Da has an exceedingly familiar feel. The cozy set could substitute for a dozen Irish Rep plays. The characters and themes (family, responsibility, loss) seem pretty typical, too. The oddest thing about “Da”: It won the 1978 Tony Award for best play. (That wasn’t the strongest of years.)