DUBAI: The well-deserved success of her sitcom “Derry Girls” — which followed four Northern Irish Catholic schoolgirls and their English male cousin growing up in the Nineties towards the end of the period euphemistically known as ‘The Troubles’ (30 years of horribly violent sectarian conflict) — means expectations are high for this latest creation from Lisa McGee. She does not disappoint.
“How to Get to Heaven from Belfast” again centers around a group of Irish female friends, though this time they’re in their late thirties. But they have been mates since their days as Northern Irish Catholic schoolgirls. The three core friends are the endearingly goofy Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne), Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher) — the writer of a successful crime show — and Robyn (Sinéad Keenan), a wealthy, highly strung mother of four. All three receive notification that their old school friend Greta (Natasha O’Keefe) has died. And despite the fact that they’ve barely been in contact with her for 20 years, all three drop what they’re doing and head to a small town in County Donegal (where they used to go to school) for her funeral. Why? Because, we find out through flashbacks, when they were kids, the four of them did a Bad Thing — in order to help Greta — and they want to know how much anyone else might know about it.
They quickly discover that Greta’s death was somewhat mysterious and decide to do some amateur sleuthing. What they uncover leaves them reeling; and doubting both the stories Greta told them decades ago and the stories they’ve told themselves about their role in the Bad Thing.
McGee showcases her mastery of plotting — keeping numerous plates spinning at a pace that can, at times, be overwhelming — and of imbuing characters with such heart and humanity that even at their most cartoonish they remain relatable and sympathetic.
Gallagher, Dunne and Keenan are superb as the central trio, displaying the loving exasperation and fierce derision that only long-term friends can share for each other. The rest of the cast more than match up — particularly Emmett J Scanlan as Greta’s sinister husband Owen, the local police chief, and, in a joyfully unhinged cameo, “Derry Girls” star Saoirse-Monica Jackson.
There’s murder, violence, slapstick, weirdness, pathos, ethical dilemmas, tension, silliness and shocks. All carried off with a deftness of touch that belies just how hard it is to successfully put them together in the same show.
It does occasionally cross the line into outright nonsense, but for the most part “How to Get to Heaven from Belfast” is fantastic television.
