Brian Friel’s “Living Quarters” for Hawk’s Well

Sligo Drama Circle returns to the Hawk’s Well stage on Tuesday June 8th for a five night run with Brian Friel’s “Living Quarters”. This production has already been selected as the opening play of this year’s Yeats International Summer School in August. “Living Quarters” is one of the more recent works from the pen of Ireland’s leading contemporary playwright and should have the crowds heading for the Temple Street theatre as Friel has always proved most popular with Sligo audiences.

“Living Quarters” concerns an Irish army officer who becomes a national hero for his exploits “under fire” in the Middle East and explores the effect this has on his relationship with his family. Set in Donegal, we find the returned hero having a triumphant welcome home, but beneath the surface all is not well on the North Western front. One critic described the Dublin production of “Living Quarters” as “the most fascinating and, in the end, truly moving evenings we have had in Irish theatre for much longer than one cares to remember”.

Director, Lionel Gallagher, is no stranger to Friel’s work, having played in “The Loves of Cass Maguire” and directed a memorable “The Freedom of the City” in the Town Hall some years ago. For “Living Quarters” he has assembled a very strong cast, Paddy Dooney, Walter Mc Donagh, Joan Fitzpatrick, Cormac Sheridan, Joe Meehan, Pauline Mc Niffe, Sheila Horan, John Caheny are all taking part as is Yvonne Curran, the find of the acting sessions in this year’s Sligo Feiseanna. Yvonne plays “Tina” the youngest daughter of the returning hero.

The Hawk’s Well should prove an ideal setting for “Living Quarters” which demands a wide stage for maximum presentation. Prices are £2.50, £2 and £1.50 with reductions for students, pensioners and unemployed. The curtain rises at 8.30pm nightly and as Brian Friel sets the scene so carefully and skilfully from the very beginning, it is important that patrons be present at the opening of the show.

from The Sligo Champion, June 4th, 1982