The Seafarer brings darkly-comic holiday myth to Calgary stage with style and heart [Video]

Alberta Theatre Projects transformed the Martha Cohen Theatre into an Irish living room to kick off its 50^th anniversary season Friday night, and all that was missing was a touch of whiskey tucked into the cup holder.

It was opening night of The Seafarer, Conor McPherson’s darkly comic Christmas Eve tale about a pair of brawling brothers on a night before unlike any other.

Right off the top, when we meet blind, aging and hungover Richard (Christopher Hunt, no relation), who has passed out by the fire in the living room of his shabby little home in the suburbs north of Dublin, it’s pretty clear that we’re in for a bit of a wild holiday ride.

Richard needs a shave, his bladder is bursting and his can’t find his stick – his cane – to help him navigate himself over to the loo.

What’s worse, his best drinking buddy Ivan (David Trimble) is in worse shape …