I went to see The Devil’s Céilí at the Cornmill Theatre in Carrickallen this weekend and was so impressed at the stage set, and management. It was fabulous. The stage design was brilliant and really accentuated the strengths of the play. The play, by Philip Doherty and Kevin McGahern, is very different and I loved the theme and ideas, though I do think it could be edited – is the audience is led by the nose a little too much? But the way the drama makes use of the set, cleverly using space, light and brilliant creativity is very exciting and makes the performance a real pleasure to see. The acting was very good. Glen Shanley and Ronan Ward played their characters superbly and moved so well on the stage. Hats off to everyone – particularly The Crew. It makes me proud to live in Cavan, on the border with Leitrim.
It was a great end to a quiet weekend in Gowna where I got immersed/bogged down in the G Com scandal and debates of who did what where without actually discovering if the premises were bugged. When I first heard of G Com…I thought of the G Spot and somehow that slant never quite disappeared for me, and only served to add to my general impression of raucous hysteria in the claims and counter claims that abounded. No-one can do scandals like the Irish. They produce real ham performances! I love (I’m being ironic) the way everyone gets involved…and has something to say (including me now). The best comment I heard was the ex Northern Ireland Ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan. She seems like a sensible woman. She suggested that the Police Commissioner should be subject to the oversight of the Garda Ombudsman and that it should be totally independent.
Quirke finished off the weekend for me in terms of performance. RTE are putting on the BBC production of the Benjamin Black (alias John Banville) novels set in Ireland in the 1950s. I haven’t seen Philomena or the Magdalen Sisters yet but the depiction of the cruel, arrogant hand of wealth and power bound by religion and thwarted love in the Quirke stories seems like an apt pre-cursor for some of our woes today. Brilliant performances.
By the way, here is a link to Slainté, my novella published on Amazon. I am told I need to do more to get it out there….oh dear
Kate Ennals 