"CURTAIN CALLS"
By Pat Launer
07/08/05
We
just got back from
Begorrah and Erin-go-bragh!
With
its hills, vales, glens and greenness
It’s
truly a Shangri-La.
We
drove about 1500 miles
Greeted with Guinness and Jameson’s and smiles.
The
Irish, with their castles, bens and birds,
Onstage
and off, are besotted with words.
The
Irish literary tradition is one (of many) of the Emerald Isle’s justified
boasts and brags (the heart-stopping beauty, soaring economy, historical and megalithic
sites are some others). We were lucky to be availed of a perfect theatrical
sampling – one classic, one modern, one traditional.
The
classic was a double-bill produced by the Druid Theatre of Galway, and directed
by the Tony Award-winning Garry Hynes (1998, for her searing production of “The
Beauty Queen of Leenane”). We caught a one-night-only preview of two pieces
from DruidSynge, which premieres at the upcoming
Galway Arts Festival, presenting a cycle of the six plays of John Millington
Synge.
Synge
(pronounced SING), who lived from 1871-1909, had a tragically brief career, yet
it established him as the foremost dramatist of the Irish Renaissance. In his
early years, he spent some time in
Like
many of his works, the play was based on stories Synge had collected on the stark, isolated Aran Islands off the
West coast of
“The Shadow of the Glen” focuses on a loveless and
decaying marriage, which was hardly untrod turf, but
many Irish nationalists saw it as “a slur on Irish womanhood.” In plot and
theme, Synge’s play owes an obvious debt to Ibsen’s 1879 masterpiece, “A Doll’s
House.” In both dramas, a frustrated woman –- in both cases named Nora – the
victim of an unhappy, passionless marriage, walks out
the door at the end, leaving her husband behind. Both plays shocked their
respective societies, for flouting cultural norms. Both gutsy protagonists are
now viewed through feminist eyes.
Synge’s Nora isn’t taken up by the admiring
neighbor who’s far closer in age to her than her
older, supposedly dead husband. Instead, she goes off with the Stranger, a
wanderer who offers the freedom of the road, connection with the land and an
unlimited amount of “fine talk,” despite his lack of the material goods that
were so important to her cold, crude husband. In spite of the criticism of
Irish marriage, and the fact that half the National Theatre Company (those not
performing) walked out on opening night, the Theatre stood by the piece,
revived it often, and the play came to be regarded as one of Synge’s great
works, and one of the highlights of the National Theatre’s early years.
The response to the opening of “Playboy of the
Western World” was even more virulent, though it’s come to be considered
Synge’s masterwork. Riots broke out during the play’s opening week in
The play focuses on the
reception given to Christy Mahon as he wanders into a small Irish village,
declaring that he has just murdered his abusive father. The villagers initially
celebrate Christy, determining that his courageous act has made him “the
playboy of the western world.” Their vision of him soon changes dramatically.
In his depiction of the interaction between Christy and the villagers, and
especially of the relationship between Christy and Pegeen
Mike Flaherty, an attractive, strong-willed, young local woman, Synge explores
the bruising effects of social convention and celebrates the power of the
imagination. He also, quite topically, considers the perils of hero worship –
and how human nature loves to tear down what it builds up. At first, Christy’s
apparent heroism invigorates the bleak, disheartened village. But when they
find out that he’s a sham, that his story is a confabulation, they go after him
with a vehemence as forceful as their prior adulation.
The intimations of human (read: Irish) frailty proved incendiary, engendering
violent reactions among the press and the populace.
One hundred years later,
Unfortunately, though the productions were
effectively staged, neither was as stellar or compelling as one might have
hoped. Having the same actor (Catherine Walsh) play the two lead women proved a
liability rather than an asset. Her portrayals of both forthright women were
too indistinguishable, though Pegeen Mike should be a
far lustier, fiery and more unconstrained woman. Both seemed equally depressed
and suppressed (except in the wonderfully lyrical love scene between Christy
and Pegeen). In general, though, Walsh highlights the
similarities in the two protagonists, not their differences. Likewise, the weak
men in the two pieces -- Michael Dara, Nora’s
neighbor in “Shadow,” and Shawn Keogh, Pegeen’s wimpy
fiancé in “Playboy” -- are portrayed by the same performer (Nick Lee). It might
be an interesting directorial choice, given the thematic and character
parallels in the two plays: both feature a dead person who’s surprisingly
alive, and the entrance of an outsider who changes everything in a formerly
routine universe. But so sharply underscoring the commonalities doesn’t do any
favors to Synge, to the Company, or to the distinctiveness of the plays and
their very different tonal shading. A standout performance in “Playboy” is
offered by Marie Mullen as Widow Quin, here played
with a delightful mix of cunning and ripened sexuality.
The weathered-wood set (Francis O’Connor) nicely
converts from a rundown, east-coast Wicklow cottage
(in “Shadow”) to a house-pub on the wild Western coast of
DruidSynge is part of the Galway Arts Festival at the
Town Hall Theatre in
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF
When
the baby Deirdre was born, a druid prophesied that she would grow up to be
extremely beautiful, but she would bring great sorrow and suffering to the
people of
Deirdre
and Naoise, or Deirdre of the Sorrows, is one of the
most famous and beloved of Irish myths/legends. It is their Helen of Troy,
their House of Atreus, their Romeo and Juliet; their tale of true love vs. lust
for power, of familial distrust and betrayal, of marriage in the face of family
opposition, of beauty as catalyst for destruction. The story has been told a thousand
times, in a thousand ways. But now, the Abbey Theatre is presenting the world
premiere of a new, lyrical retelling that makes the metaphysical political and
the political timely.
Irish
playwright Vincent Woods has written poetry, plays for adults and children,
radio plays and adaptations. His work has been translated into French, German
and Irish. French director Olivier Py has directed
theater, opera and one film, and has also written and acted in plays, and
pursued a singing career as well (under the stage name of Miss Knife). In
interviews, they’ve said they felt like dramatic brothers when they met. And
yet, in their first collaboration, “A
Cry from Heaven,” they seem to be working at cross purposes.
Woods’
writing is lyrical and poetic. Py’s direction is
stark, highly stylized, presentational and confrontational. His production is
so High Concept that it clouds, even at times
obliterates and overwhelms, the story. He is trying to show the tragedy of
never-ending war. The suffering, the inescapable horror of a
world eternally in conflict. But there are too many distractions. The
set is black, and the actors are dressed in black, in white-face. They start
out standing downstage in a line, facing the audience, talking into handheld
microphones. Soon, the rain begins. And it rains. And rains.
The stage and actors are dripping wet. We fear for their safety. They move the
multi-level stanchion set. Repeatedly. Constantly. The rain continues. A wheel (Highly Symbolic!)
is pushed on. And off. And on again. There is
violence, blood, nudity, entrails. It looks very much like the other Py productions depicted in a large photographic book being
sold in the Abbey’s lobby.
In
the second act, waiting for a dénouement, you hope for a different feel or
look. But alas, the rain continues. The wheel is back. The black and white
bulls make another appearance. It all becomes so tedious. And that’s really too
bad, especially since the story is so tragic and heartrending, and so important
to Irish people and culture. The narrative becomes secondary to the Concept.
Admittedly, there are some gorgeous stage pictures. But it doesn’t obviate the
huge production problems.
A
long-time
“It
was huge and vast and epic. All black… Earthy. Pagan. Ritualistic. Bawdy. Lewd. Savage.
Some said pornographic. Decadent. …
A
story we all knew, have lived, have seen, have heard, have learned. A story we
wanted so much to identify with, could identify with. A story we could
breathe... But we were not allowed
entrance into the drama… Forgotten in the black moving menagerie.
The loaded coarse black set always on wheels moving, Keeping
us out. With its great heights and yet no sense of the lyric
sky. And so they lost us. … A grandiose vision.
But no visionary.”
Even
the performances were problematic; most actors emoted or yelled (trying to make
themselves heard over the rain and sound effects?).
Kelly Campbell wasn’t strong enough as Deirdre; Alan Turkington
was attractive but not irresistible as Naoise. Conor
the King (Clarán Taylor) was played as an idiot.
Fergus, the former King, was portrayed with power and compassion (Denis
Conway). Barry McGovern was compelling as the Druid Cathach.
As the monstrous mother,
At the Abbey Theatre in
THE IRISH ISLES ARE
SMILING
One sheer, unalloyed dramatic pleasure was Siamsa
Tire, the National Folk Theatre of Ireland, which had been recommended by
another friend of Marianne McDonald, theater-writer Tony O’Dalaigh.
Based in Tralee, on
With joyful music and dance, using the Gaelic language and dramatic
convention, they tell the stories of
In a series of vignettes, sung a capella or with wonderful musical
accompaniment (2 fiddles, percussion, flute, keyboard, accordion), “Oileán” reveals a great deal about life on the remote Blasket Islands, off the west coast of Ireland, beyond the
Dingle Peninsula (a Gaeltacht, or Gaelic-speaking
area). From stylized moves to impassioned Irish step and set-dancing, we learn
of the peace and solitude of the island, the fishing nets, the matchmaking and
a wedding, the education, the salvage items from a shipwreck that bring
unthought-of luxuries to the plain townsfolk, and their religious and
supernatural concerns. But it’s not all sweetness and light. There’s the pain
of young folks leaving the island to seek their fortune elsewhere, and even the
death of a young child, due to lack of access to adequate (or sufficiently
rapid) medical care.
In its simple but extremely well executed steps and songs, this production
far outstrips the ultra-schmaltzy, over-written “Riverdance”
or “Lord of the Dance.” This is the Real Thing, in the native language, the
stories told with heart and energy that’s palpably genuine. If you’re ever in
In
NOW, FOR WHAT’S 'NOT
TO BE MISSED!' (i.e., Critic’s Picks)
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” – just about flawless; director Sean Murray does it
again! Gorgeously designed, directed and acted. A too-rarely-seen classic
brought to magnificent life!
At Cygnet Theatre, through July 10.
“
At the Welk Resort Theatre, through August 28.
“The Male Intellect: An
Oxymoron” – a fun date night,
which shows both genders a few of their more amusing and infuriating foibles.
At the Theatre in
Happy
July! Let your body bask in the beauty
of summer by day– and your mind be stirred up in the theater at night!
©
2005 PATTÉ PRODUCTIONS, INC.