Dancing at Lughnasa Review
- 4 hours ago
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Brian Friel’s acclaimed masterpiece. Dancing at Lughnasa, comes alive in an intense and emotionally rich production at Newtown's New Theatre. Check out our full review!
Celebrated Irish writer, Brian Friel, has been compared to the very best playwrights, and Dancing at Lughnasa, is regarded as possibly his very best work. Set entirely in a small house in rural Ireland in 1936, this slow-release family drama tells a story that extends beyond what is presented on stage.
The five unmarried Mundy sisters — Maggie, Agnes, Kate, Christina, and Rose — live in a modest cottage in the fictional Irish town of Ballybeg, County Donegal. They are clearly poor.
Kate, the eldest, is a teacher and the main breadwinner. She acts as the matriarch and is stoic and God-fearing. Maggie keeps house and prepares meals; she tells corny jokes to lighten the dour mood. Agnes is quiet and thoughtful, harbouring impossible ambitions and, perhaps, a scandalous secret. Though 32, Rose seems younger due to a learning disability. She is childlike and naïve, making her vulnerable to predatory men. Christina, the youngest at 26, is whimsical. She has had a child out of wedlock, Michael, who is 7.
Michael as an adult appears on stage as a sort of “ghost of the future”. He provides background information and epilogues to the various storylines, as well as being the voice of young Michael.
The household is thrown off kilter with the return of the Mundy’s older brother, Jack, a priest who has served in the leper colonies of Uganda for 25 years. Jack has adopted many pagan beliefs and practises and, it is hinted, perhaps indulged in some other “un-Christian-like” behaviour.
As the townfolk gradually learn about Jack’s return and his heathen ways, they begin to distance themselves from the Mundy family. Kate loses her position as a teacher; Agnes and Rose can no longer sell their knitted gloves.
To make matters worse, Gerry, Michael’s long-absent father, comes to visit Christina, filling her head (and Michaels) with false hopes and expectations.
In review, Dancing at Lughnasa by New Theatre, brings together a commensurate cast, each well-selected for their respective roles.
Director, Isabella Milkovitsch, moves the narrative at a steady pace, bringing slow-boil intensity with each new revelation.
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