This year’s Dublin Theatre Festival features a production of Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa by Lyric Theatre Belfast.
Here’s how the theatre festival describes it: “Set in County Donegal in 1936 during the Celtic harvest festival of Lughnasa, the play tells the story of the five Mundy sisters and their brother Jack, who has returned home from the missions after 25 years away. The story is told by the sisters’ nephew, Michael, who recalls the summer spent with his aunts when he was seven years old. As August gives way to September, Michael recounts his memory of childhood in Ballybeg, where his aunts raised him in their crumbling, rural home and where once they danced.”
This was my first time seeing the play, and I won’t try to critique it. I’ll just say: I enjoyed it, the production quality was high, and it’s usually a good sign if a play is still being performed long after it was written. RIP Brian Friel.
Dancing at Lughnasa runs in the Gaiety Theatre to 11th October 2015 as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival. Tickets cost from €15 to €45. The show starts at 7:30 pm and runs for about 2 hours 30 minutes including an interval.