In Touch ‘With Some Kind of Otherness’

The cultural status with which Ireland holds both Brian Friel and Dancing at Lughnasa means the stakes of putting on this play are somewhat high. However, there remains a hunger amongst audiences to meet this familiar material, albeit in a different light and perhaps appreciate new aspects of it.

Caroline Byrne and I went on a journey of abstracting the environment of this family home by seeing it through the fragmented memory of Michael.

In Michael’s words, “what fascinates me about that memory is that it owes nothing to fact… everything is simultaneously actual and illusionary…”

This memory play has given us an ‘in’ to create what Friel describes as an echo of a reality, and an opportunity to see the past through the hazy heat of the summer of 1936 that Michael remembers.

There are themes of Catholicism and paganism, drawn out in the space through lines and circles. The inevitable encroaching of the natural world as the season warms up and the harvest comes, blurring the lines between inside and outside as the play unfolds.

The thin frame of the house which lingers overhead has a fragility which felt right for this story and is fashioned together much like the two kites which Michael so lovingly crafts. We wanted the memory of the house to be knitted together in a similar way, bound by string, levitating in some way around the lovingly remembered aunts.

The arid landscape on stage was inspired also by the references to Uganda where Uncle Jack has come from. The ground is both Irish and African and warm from the summer sun.

The process of bringing the costumes to life was also a total delight, collaborating with the Gate Theatre’s Head of Costume, James McGlynn Seaver, to create our own take on this well-known family portrait.

We wanted to absolutely be true to the era of the play, while bringing something timeless to their clothes. Using shapes of the 30’s, we took the opportunity to hand make all the sisters’ clothes like they would have done back then. Each character’s clothes have quite literally been stitched together by a loving hand.

Although the play is specific to Ballybeg, the themes are universal and we have used fabrics and textiles from all over the world to tell the story of brave women everywhere. Hopefully we have achieved what we set out to do, a beloved classic in a fresh reimagining.

Chiara Stephenson,
Set & Costume Designer

Photos by Ros Kavanagh

Director: Caroline Byrne
Assistant Director: Éadaoin Fox
Lighting Designer: Paul Keogan
Sound Designer & Composer: Sinéad Diskin
Movement Director: Sue Mythen