FOR its current production in the Yew Theatre Company has taken on a new play by Deirdre Ann Hines. A Moving Destiny, deals with aspects of life in the travelling community, and the fact that the playwright has spent the last two years working with that community adds considerably to the overall sense of authenticity.

The play deals with a family spanning four generations, but centres around the predicament of young mother, Pearl, caught between her cultural identity and her family's immediate needs. The play creates a credible portrayal of, travellers' lives and concerns, successfully demythologising and humanising a section of, society usually viewed through a veil of assumption rather than fact. The main difficulty is that with a subject of such, breadth the play attempts to draw in too many strands.

The performances are underpinned by Pearl (Caitriona Hinds), her grandparents Old Kate (Helena Bereen) and Old Mikey (Mark Mulholland) and Pearl's mother (a fine and credible portrayal by Katie Moynagh). Creditable performances by members of the travelling community as Pearl's children give the production a particular immediacy. Under the direction of Pierre Campos the pace is generally energetic, though there are occasional lapses during some of the more stagy dialogue.