The first thing that begs to be said about the Abbey’s new play is that Marie Mullen in the lead role of Arina is nothing short of spectacular. The character she plays is a one woman army and Mullen makes you believe every word she utters. The Last Days of the Reluctant Tyrant, written by Tom Murphy, tells the story of a woman who began life as a poor girl married off to a local well-to-do family. She takes their ailing fortune and turns it around, building a wealthy estate. Arina is a hardened woman, seemingly lacking and pity, remorse or any emotion whatsoever, save contempt. Tyrant examines this woman’s attempt to reconcile the difference between mother and matriarch. We begin as her ne’er do well son Stephen, played ably by Darragh Kelly, returns to town. This stirs Arina into questioning herself and whether she has made the right decisions … There’s more →