This is what we came for! Last night, our group had the opportunity to see our first theatre show performed by the Olivier Theatre Company at the Royal National theatre! The performance is known as Dancing at Lughnasa written by Brian Friel. The story takes place through the memory of a summer during 1936 in a fictional town known as Ballybeg, Ireland. The narrator, Michael, reflects back on this time that he spent around his mother, his four aunts, and his uncle known as Father Jack. I was so excited to see this play in person because it was enjoyable to read the script in class. It reminded me of Little Women because of the dynamic sisterly relationships within the story. The plot of the play focuses on these five sisters and how they navigate through hardships as the Industrial Revolution impedes on their quiet life in the countryside of Ireland. They manage their difficulties together by dancing which seems to be a way that the characters speak to each other and comfort each other more so than through words. Despite my pleasure of reading the play, I did discover some pros and cons to my live viewing experience of this performance.
Let us start out on a more positive note, shall we? As I made my way through the doors of the theatre’s performance hall, my jaw immediately dropped at the sight of the beautiful set. I think this might have been the most detailed and realistic set I have ever seen. My eyes immediately were drawn into the dirt and grassy path that led down from the back of the stage to the center where a central square was set up to resemble the kitchen of a home. I couldn’t believe how effective the set designers had been at making a portion of the stage appear to take place outdoors. There was grass outside of the home and wheat on either side of the dirt road. What truly made the set come to life though were these projecting lights that hung down from the ceiling. They projected images of light, the sky, and trees into the background of the set to further emulate an outdoorsy feel. I truly felt as though I were looking into the window of a home in the countryside of Ireland.
Besides the stunning set designs, there were other aspects of the play that I also enjoyed such as the acting. My favorite character was the sister, Maggie who is played by the talented Siobhan McSweeny. McSweeny truly brought this character to life from the pages of the script with her lively body movement and animated voice expressions. I also really loved the way she delivered her lines and jokes throughout the play. I also enjoyed the character Kate. She was insufferable quite a bit because of her righteous traits, but I found it humorous whenever she would get all bothered by something someone said and how the other characters would try to nag at her.
My favorite scene throughout the play was when all of the sisters started dancing which bothered Kate because she found it to lead to sin. However, as Kate sits at table, frowning upon the girls dancing ferociously around the house, she steps outside to dance alone. I found this to be a beautiful moment for her character to unleash her inner spirit and reveal a side of her she keeps hidden from the other characters. Previous to this scene, I had found myself struggling to feel engaged by the play. However, this portion of the play really made me feel alive as an audience member. I found myself leaning off the edge of my seat in excitement, wanting to rush down to the stage and dance with the characters. After this scene however, I found myself slowly falling into boredom once again. Perhaps my lack of attention was due to the jet lag that I was experiencing or the pure exhaustion that culture shock brings when you go to another country for the first time.
I think that the true reason that I did not enjoy the play completely was because of the script and the plot. No matter how proficient the acting was or how ornate the set design was, I could not for the life of me stay entertained. I particularly did not enjoy the narration of Michael because I prefer plays that show rather than tell. This play translates well on script, but I found myself actually wanting to see the things that Michael was telling the audience about and I also found myself struggling to follow some of his narration due to how slowly he talked. I think in terms of narration, it all comes down to the fact that I simply did not like the actor ‘s voice for Michael in this play. I sometimes wonder if narration works in this play and if there would be more effective means of showing the depth of Michael’s memories rather than telling.
While Dancing At Lughnasa has one of the most captivating sets of any stage and actors with the best attempts to bring the characters to life, It was still difficult for me as an audience member to feel moved by the play. I felt as if there were no real character arcs for anyone in the story which left me as a viewer feeling unfulfilled. I struggled to see a resolution to the story other than it simply being the interactions of a family for three hours. Some may argue that some plays and stories don’t necessarily need a resolution, but rather just exist as a display of the reality of everyday people. Many of the audience members surrounding me seemed to enjoy the play quite well for there were laughs to be heard echoing throughout the performance hall. Audience members who identify with the culture and characters of the play may find more value within the production for it focuses on themes of emotional memory and family connection. The indication of other audience members’ enjoyment shows that there must be something good to take away from such a play, but when it comes to being entertained and emotionally moved by a performance, unfortunately this one was lacking for me.
Theatre in London U of A 