O’ Casey Classic Still Poignant 81 Years On

Sligo Drama Circle take to the Hawk’s Well stage this Spring, turning the spotlight on Sean O Casey’s “The Plough and the Stars”. Directed by Ursula Smullen, the cast includes Averyl Dooher, Barry Deignan, Gerry Ryan, Siobhán Dooney, Máire Hynes, Ultan Burke, Murieann Tobin, Róisín Kilcoyne, Vinnie Holland, Kevin Boyle and welcomes young actors, Dermot Ryan and Elaine Burke to the stage in their first Drama Circle show. Opening night next Tuesday, April 24, is also fittingly the 91st anniversary of the Easter 1916 Rising, with the play set in the Dublin tenements during this period.

The action centres on a young married couple, Jack and Nora Clitheroe and while Jack’s mind is preoccupied with thoughts of the Citizen Army, of which is a member; his young wife Nora’s ambitions revolve more around how she can better their lives and prevent Jack from involving himself further in politics. But despite Nora’s best efforts to fashion a comfortable life for herself and her husband, against a backdrop of grinding poverty, her world falls in when she fails to stop him joining the rebel forces ranged against the British army on Easter Monday.

First performed in 1926, its unsympathetic treatment of the participants in the Easter Rebellion, started a riot in the theatre and after this event O’Casey left Ireland for England, never to return. The play runs for five nights from Tuesday, April 24 to Saturday, April 28 with the opening night a fundraising gala organised by the Rotary Club in association with the Inner Wheel Club of Sligo. All proceeds of this evening, which will include a wine reception from 7pm, will go to secure much needed specialised equipment for St Cecilia’s Special School, Cregg House, a school for children with moderate, severe and profound learning difficulties. Tickets for each night are priced at €15/ €13 and are now on sale at the box office or by telephoning 071 91 61526/ 91 61518.

from The Sligo Champion, April 18th, 2007