Drama Circle’s Production of “Sive”

In a curious way John B. Keane has created plays which, though written so recently, have already something of the quality of collector’s items. Keane, who owns a public house in Listowel – that breeding ground of literary people – has chosen in his plays to put characters on the stage who are shadows and mouthpieces of an Ireland which is already past. The dialogue he uses is particular to Kerry but has much in common with other parts of Ireland. Keane’s plays come across best when presented in a lively and spirited manner since there is little style of speech or twist of plot for the seasoned theatre-goer. For the foreign tourist, watching a Keane play is the equivalent of picking up an Irish antique.

Sligo Drama Circle Director, Walter Mc Donagh, handles this antique with care in his production of “Sive”. His expertise shows in the cleverly constructed set and the tempo of the production. The costumes are pleasing and the lighting good. However, a bolder use of sound effects to suggest the existence of an outside world beyond the cottage interior on stage would be an improvement. As Mena and Mike Glavin, Ann Mc Dermott and Ray Cawley are convincing and in the role of the grandmother Frances Downey shows that there is still love in Keane’s world of gombeenism and mendacity. Michelle Fitzpatrick is suitably innocent and appealing as the tragic Sive while Eamon Flanagan gives a truly sincere performance as her young lover. The match made between Seán Dota, an aging bachelor anxious to wed, and Sive is used in this play to introduce the real characters of the piece. These are Seán Dota himself, Thomasheen Seán Rua and the tinker poets Pats Bocock and Carthalawn. It is easy to overplay these roles but in Lionel Gallagher, Liam Mc Kinney, Joe Meehan and Ronan Mc Dermott respectively, the author and the producer are well served. “Sive” is being performed in the Town Hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays until August 3rd starting at 8.30pm.

from The Sligo Champion, July 21st, 1978