The Fantasy Lives of Two Boys, Pierced in the End by Sectarian Strife

Christopher Dinolfo, left, and Michael Innocenti in Keegan Theatre's production of "Mojo Mickybo." (By Ray Gniewek)

In Irish playwright Owen McCafferty's "Mojo Mickybo," the innocence and fervent imaginations of two 10-year-old boys protect them from the problems beginning to savage Belfast in the summer of 1970 as the annual Orange Day activities loom.

Until sectarian violence rips into their lives, Mojo, a Protestant, and Mickybo, a Catholic, find friendship in the things they have in common, notably an active fantasy life expressed in their attraction to the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," which they act out whenever possible. Differences belong to the adults, their arguments mere rumbles of faraway thunder. But the storm is gathering.

"Mojo Mickybo," playing at Arlington's Theatre on the Run, is the second production of the first full season of Keegan Theatre's New Island Project. The group is demonstrating significant dexterity with challenging material focused on intimate performance.

This play is a perfect fit for the group's mission, as it shows the human dimension of the large-scale tragedy about to grip Northern Ireland for a generation. But this is not a downbeat experience. McCafferty has provided a joyous romp through youthful freedom that director Eric Lucas and his two actors engagingly bring to life. McCafferty eschews a political statement as he takes us into young lives for whom the future seems unbounded. Any wistfulness lies with the viewer, who sees more than these exuberant youths can.

Christopher Dinolfo (Mojo) and Michael Innocenti (Mickybo), both adults, turn in remarkably nuanced performances that alternate between sensitive character studies of two irrepressible boys and quick but vivid impressions of more than a dozen characters, including parents and older neighborhood toughs. Each handles the Belfast dialect with skill, though some mushy dialogue is lost to our ears and much of the vernacular is meaningless to anyone who has not spent time on Belfast's gritty streets. (A glossary in the program would be helpful.) The profanity seems familiar, though, even if rendered somewhat more poetic with the Irish lilt and inventive combinations.

The boys seem unconcerned with the mounting tensions as they emulate Butch and Sundance, but they certainly are absorbing some of the fallout. Their games and language begin to mirror adult conflict, and they notice increasingly inexplicable behavior with their own parents.

Dinolfo and Innocenti are warm and playful, successfully avoiding the trap of playing the children as too cute and cloying. There is a great deal of laughter as the boys act out their fantasies and go on quirky adventures. At times, the actors switch so quickly between the lads and the other characters that it seems as if the small, mostly barren stage is packed with people. The energy level is so high and consistent that Lucas must have been as tough as a drill sergeant during rehearsal. Despite the speed (the play clocks in at 65 minutes), Dinolfo and Innocenti never seem rushed, evincing the relaxation of youngsters who think they have all the time in the world.

Lucas may have had some political statement in mind by placing a stylized Northern Ireland flag under their feet on the stage, but the meaning of that is unclear. Also unclear until close to the end is the religious affiliation of each boy. There are hints about this, but they are rather vague. When the society's schism reaches into their world, it takes a few moments to register what has happened and why. But that is a flaw in the writing, not the performance, and we get past it quickly. The experience of the play is charming but meaningful.

"Mojo Mickybo," performed by Keegan Theatre's New Island Project, will show through Feb. 3 at Theatre on the Run, 3700 S. Four Mile Run Dr., Arlington. Showtime is 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. The Feb. 3 performance is a 2 p.m. matinee. For tickets, call 703-892-0202. For more information, visithttp://www.keegantheatre.com.