Entertainment

‘The Boat Factory’ is a valentine to the Irish shipbuilders behind the Titanic and other vessels

It’s best known as the place where the Titanic was built. But Harland and Wolff, the Belfast shipyard where “The Boat Factory” is set, was much more than that — a place where generations of hardworking men toiled to produce more than a thousand ships when jet planes were but science fiction.

Dan Gordon’s heartwarming play pays tribute to these unsung workers, one of whom was his father.

Gordon does double duty, co-starring here as Davy, a carpenter’s apprentice who starts work at the factory at 16. There, he’s quickly taken under the wing of Geordie (Michael Condron), whose cocky demeanor belies his diminutive height and lingering effects from a near crippling bout with polio.

A touching camaraderie develops between the two men, who bond over their respective love of “Flash Gordon” and “Moby-Dick.” The actors also play multiple colorful supporting characters, often switching roles with the literal drop of a hat. The burly Gordon and the smaller Condron make a striking pair, resembling an Irish Abbott and Costello in their comic physical interplay.

Talk of the Titanic eventually surfaces, with Geordie delivering an impassioned defense of its construction.

“She was all right when she left us,” he insists, arguing that the ship met its doom because of the hubris of its owners, who insisted on running it far too fast.

Granted, the action slows at times when talk about shipbuilding tools and methods go on to often eye-glazing length. But when it’s done, you can practically smell the wood on the scaffolds of the set. The play is clearly a labor of love for its actor-playwright, and by the time the tragic fates of its characters are revealed, you’ll share his affectionate lament for the era it depicts.