Ag Claí na Muice Duibhe

'At the Black Pig's Dyke' by Vincent Woods, translated into Irish by Séamas Ó Scolaí at Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe.

The audience was brought to its feet on the first night of Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe's production of 'Ag Claí na Muice Duibhe'. Translated into Irish by Séamas Ó Scolaí the show was an audio-visual pleasure as spectacular set design and an abundance of energy from all those on stage enthralled and entertained.

The excitement created by the strong music, dance and comedy of the masked cleamairí (or mummers) throughout the play veiled the sinister, underlying theme of a border community divided by bigotry, hatred, injustices of the past and an overwhelming thirst for revenge.

Although Maelíosa Stafford as director has created a spectacle to behold, the storyline left this reviewer in utter confusion for the whole of the first half. Matters were clarified somewhat during the second act but even the narrative interjections and perfect comic timing of the amadáin, portrayed Mary Ryan and Pádraic Ó Tuairisc, didn't really throw any light on the subject.

Set at Claí na Muice Duibhe on the Leitrim-Fermanagh border, the play depicts events in a community divided by religion, suspicion and fear. Lizzie Ní Fhloinn marries Jack Boles who comes from the other side of the fence. Members of her own community, disagreeing with the alliance, murder Jack.

The action jumps from one time period to another as the middle-aged Lizzie Boles reminisces. Confusion reigned in my mind however as her character appeared on stage looking back on herself courting Jack. The young Lizzie was played by a different actress who also played Lizzie's daughter, and granddaughter.

The play opens with the discovery of Lizzie and her daughter drawing their last breaths after a vicious attack by 'búistéirí fir' (butchers of men) armed with sticks and wearing masks. At the end we discover who is responsible for this slaughter and the reasons behind it. Predictably, not all the cleamairí are as gregarious as they first appeared.

The acting in this production cannot be faulted in any way, especially the performances of Bríd Ní Neachtain and Audrey Ní Fhearghail in the parts of Lizzie, her daughter and granddaughter. Macdara Ó Fátharta excels as the evil Frainc Beirne, a character sharing many of the same traits of his 'Ros na Rún' TV character, Tadhg.

The deceptively simple idea of using a huge haystack as the centre-piece of the set was extremely effective. Add to this the straw costumes and elaborate masks of the cleamairí and the result is a visual feast. The music, newly composed by Brendan O'Regan was performed with appropriate zest and poignancy by Brendan and Máirín Browne and Darach Mac an Iomaire.

Séamas Ó Scolaí has cleverly translated the rhymes and verses of the cleamairí into Irish, the curses and insults of Doc Mummer in particular raising some giggles from the audience.

It's a production of excellence, but for optimum viewing pleasure some previous knowledge of the storyline is essential.

Gráinne Ní Ghilín

'Ag Claí na Muice Duibhe' is at Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe from 17 - 25 July 2001 as part of the Galway Arts Festival.