Juno and the Paycock at the Gielgud Theatre review: Succession star J. Smith-Cameron is splendid

First things first: Sean O’Casey’s tragicomedy set in civil war-torn Dublin in 1922 has dated badly; Succession star J. Smith-Cameron is splendid in it as tenement matriarch Juno; Mark Rylance, a quicksilver but collegiate actor at his excellent best, sadly continues his recent slide into mannered self-parody as Juno’s feckless husband ‘Captain’ Jack Boyle.

The play was radical in its time, depicting the battle for Irish independence through working-class lives. Today its juxtaposition of broad humour with sectarian violence and poverty jars, as do the thick-as-stout accents.