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Will, the play is quite simply perfection. I have seen it play on two occasions and I would gladly see it once again. I am of the opinion that it is the greatest post war Irish play, and the best play written in the last 20 years anywhere in the world. The original Abbey theatre production justifiably won the 1992 Tony for Best Play.

A rural Donegal domestic drama is set against the wider events of August 1936, arguably the most significant month in 20th Century history. Mussolini’s Italy invaded Abyssinia and the Spanish Civil War brought thousands of people from across Europe to Spain to fight for the Communist movement. And our very own Louis MacNeice accompanied W.H. Auden to Iceland for a vacation, their visit there immortalised in the modern classic ‘Letters from Iceland’.

Within Ireland a new constitution would be introduced the following year that would cement the ‘special position’ of the Catholic Church, whilst institutionalising the domestic role of women for a generation or more. All these themes are brought to bear on this most rural of plays. And it is in the play's most celebrated scene that the Mundy sister's dance, casting off, if just for a moment, the shackles of society and the world in which they live.

I could go on for hours about the production, a formidable cast bring alive the characters, each bringing a warmth and sincerity to their parts. Particular praise must go to Ferdia Murphy’s set, and Ian Scott’s lighting, both of which transport us back to August in Donegal in 1936, whilst Mick Gordan's direction reinvigorates this modern classic.

Moves mountains if needs be but try and see this before it closes tomorrow night. Show your support for locally produced theatre, especially when it is this 'perfect'.

Â鶹ԼÅÄ World TV is reporting that the marching season at Dumkree will begin continuing 200 years of inciting anger and hatred. I still don't understand why the IRA surrendered. A dance of death in the streets.

mark -

You are so out of date ang uninformed about northern ireland. Those of us living here are glad the IRA ended the war.

Hillbillery, I'd assume the unionists would feel that way. How do the Catholics whose homes the marchers flaunt their contempt in front of feel about it?

Perhaps if I'm uninformed, it's because I've gotten so much of my information about NI from Â鶹ԼÅÄ. Any Catholics who are affected posting here? What say you folks about it? How would it be if the Jews marched periodically through East Jerusalem waving Isreali flags singing Israeli patriotic songs in Palestinian neighborhoods? The world would be up in arms at the provocation. Ariel Sharon just visiting the Al Aqsa Mosque once was provocation enough for an armed uprising the Palestinians called an intifada.

I agree with Hilbeillery. That guy Mark hasn't a clue. Catholics and Protestants have all kinds of marches in NI. I'm not a supporter of the Orange Order, but Mark's comments about israel and palestine show a complete ignorance of wat's going on here. Those attitudes inflame the siutation. We're moving on over here and can do without Americans talking nonsense about the situation and trying to reopen wounds.

Belfast Catholic; that's not what I heard from lots of Americans of Irish Catholic descent years ago. I'd never even heard of the IRA until I went to school and met Americans who supported them. I think Americans of Irish descent sent many millions of dollars and proabably lots of weapons too to the IRA over the years. Not having any ancestors from Britain or Ireland I don't have a dog in this fight myself. But coming from a country which was the first to fight a war to win its independence from British imperial rule, I supose I've got a little sympathy for anyone in a similar plight, it's in the genes. By the way, the sense that the marches are a provocation came directly from Â鶹ԼÅÄ's own report on American TV last night. How else would I even know the marching season had begun. In fact I didn't know there was a "season" in the first place.

I'm still curious as to why the IRA gave up. I find it hard to believe they just got tired of fighting. Some of us believe there is a bit of a revolutionary, a bit of a poet, and a lot of blarney in every Irishman. What did they get that they couldn't have gotten a long time ago, some seats in a devolved Parliament? That's nothing like what I understood they had in mind at all. It seems odd that a struggle that lasted for 400 years would end in a whimper. So tell me, why are they satisfied? Why did they agree to lay down their arms?

Mark:

The IRA's "struggle" didnt last 400 years. The Provisional IRA came into existence in the late 1960s. You're referring to the 400 year relationship between Britain and Ireland, which is quite a different thing.

The IRA ended its war for many reasons.

1. They couldnt win through military means and finally reaslised that politics was the best way forward for their aims. Sinn Fein was instrumental in helpig the IRA see that.

2. International terrorism after 9/11 took on a new role in the world. The US took a very different attitude to the IRA, particularly since the UK was so supportive in the war against terror. The IRA realised they risked becoming isoltaed even further.

3. The southern Irish government's attitude to Sinn Fein and the IRA has changed remarkably over the past 15 years, to a position of great antipathy. Some previous govts, mostly in the 70s, appeared to be pro-IRA. Not any more.

4. Economics. The republic of ireland is doing verywell. Northern Ireland is lagging far behind. Thats because of terrorism and many people know that now. The IRA were being seen by Catholic nationalists in the north as a barrier to the kind of economic growth and prosperity being experienced inthe south.

And 20 other reasons ...

Rmember Mark, there are two identity groups in Northern Ireland, and the Unionist community is still slightly larger than the nationalist. Any march by one community is provocative. But e have to learn to share this island together, not to fight over marches. Thanksfully we seem to be learning that lesson. Marches this year have again passes off peacefully. That's incredible progress for us.

The Â鶹ԼÅÄ is right to say that the Drumcree march is considered provocative by some nationalists. That doesnt mean the march is comparable to the KKK. It means we need to find a way to make the march less provocative. The Orange Order looks likely to agree to talk to nationalists to try to resolve that question soon.

Jeff Lynch; If the Orangemen didn't want to be provocative, couldn't they just as well march somewhere else? Isn't the whole point to be provocative?

I think about 40 or 50 million Americans can in part trace their ancestry to Ireland, mostly Catholic I think. As you know, a lot left Ireland during the potato famine and so later there were relatives to join. Among the 12 million illegal aliens in the US, 50,000 are Irish.

Do the Irish now or did they at one time consider the separation of Ireland into a Republic and to Northern Ireland which I presume was an integral part of Great Britain an artificial separation? Are there still lingering feelings of it? Do people go back and forth across the border freely the way they do between Scotland and England? After all, both are in the EU now. Do the Irish still use the Punt for currency or have they adopted the Euro like most of Europe?

Mark:

I am in N. Ireland at present and I think Jeff's summary is pretty much in line with what I see.

As to the political division between the north and the south ... I can see that gradually disappearing over the next 20 or so years as Ireland as a whole thinks of itself as part of greater Europe.

If you have some spare cash invest it here. The 'celtic tiger' is marching north and this place is about to enter a boom age.

Regards,
Michael

ps Mark: You should pay a visit - the only thing I can't get used to is the rain - gentle though it is one can get damn wet! I also had forgotten how at this time of the year the night sky never gets dark. Of course, one pays for that in mid winter!

What has any of this got to do with this outstanding production? Nothing whatsoever!!

Re 10:

Good point, Christopher.

Back to the play …. My son played the young male role in ‘Beauty Queen of Leenane’ when it was performed in New Jersey and he hopes to play the older male role in a forthcoming production in Nyack, New York.

Does anyone know if there is a current production of this play in N. Ireland?

Regards,
Michael

Michael, I did a quick web search and I can find no current production in Northern Ireland. Then again, Northern Ireland aint the best place to find good productions of contemporary drama. We are only getting the chance in September to finally see a production of 'Scenes from the Big Picture' here, despite it being a play about 24 hours in Belfast. If only there was more good drama produced in Northern Ireland. This production of 'Dancing at Lughnasa' was easily better than nearly anything I have seen in the West End. Part of the problem has to be the lack of arts funding in Northern Ireland. I can't encourage enough people to support the current Invest in Inspiration campaign. But what chance do the arts have in Northern Ireland when the minister responsible for them is a DUP farmer who has said he isn't particularly interested in 'culture'? As a lifelong Unionist I belive they should have given this portfolio to Sinn Fein/SDLP, I have no doubt they would do a better job.