John Bosco McLaine is a bachelor farmer in his early 50s, a man who, romantically speaking, has glanced off the goalposts and skidded off the crossbar, but never the ball at the back of the net. In brief, he has never had sex with a woman, the kind of man for whom John B Keane, the playwright, coined "chastitute".
All his life he has been bedevilled by repressive Catholic teaching. John was never averse to the idea of marriage, but there was a scarcity of women in his part of Kerry. He knows time is running out, and decides to make a last stand.
A matchmaker comes up with some , predatory candidates, and some serious possibilities for sex emerge, but John makes a mess of them. A trip to Dublin brings him closest to success, but ends in a disaster that tips into farce.
By the ending, when John has determined to drink himself to death, there seem to have been two plays on stage. The first is a rich comedy with a heart, funny and empathetic. It is followed by an indictment of the religious and social forces of sexual repression. Keane's passion is impressive but misplaced, and the play is in decline from then on. It cannot serve two masters.
There is still much to enjoy. The language is rich and racy, and Mick Lally's John is a performance to revel in. He is royally supported by Maureen Toal, Robert Carrickford, John Olohan and Bernadette McKenna, and Terry Byrne's direction has pace and style.
This play has not survived as well as others by Keane, but there is life in it yet, and much to savour.
Runs until August 11th (01-4627477)
