An Grianan's Dancing at Lughnasa marks the theatre's most ambitious endeavour to date and the play's first professional outing in its home county, writes Derek O'Conner
Brian Friel's Dancing At Lughnasa is one of the few Irish plays of the modern era that could be described as a bona fide phenomenon, an instant classic that triumphed - and, across the globe, continues to triumph - both critically and commercially, while connecting with audiences on the most direct and emotional of levels.
At heart, it's a remarkably well-built memory play, open to an infinite potential for interpretation and analysis, and well able to outlast the rapidly fading memory of the utterly forgettable screen version directed by Pat O'Connor. In transferring Lughnasa to the screen, playwright Frank McGuinness nobly fought a losing battle (some ill-advised casting decisions didn't help), the finished results only serving to stress what an inherently theatrical work this is. As with the best of Friel, it's a true Donegal play, universal yet utterly specific; something that Letterkenny's An Grianan Theatre hopes to capture with a new production of Dancing At Lughnasa, the first professional take on the piece from a company based in the county of its origins.
"It's such a wonderful play," says An Grianan director Patricia McBride, "and I just felt that, with it being just 10 years since it was first done, it would be timely to revisit it. I like it as a play, I like it for the fact that - like all Friel's work - it's based in Donegal, and I like it for the fact that there's five very strong roles for women in it, which is still a rarity in contemporary theatre. It's perfect for us."
Over the past three years, An Grianan has striven to raise the bar for theatre in Donegal, offering consistently remarkable results. In addition to a dizzying array of touring productions of all shapes and sizes, a host of diverse musical presentations, a successful comedy festival and a steady stream of local events, the theatre has been establishing its reputation as a production house of note, mixing crowd-pleasing children's theatre with touring productions such as poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh's acclaimed Irish-language version of Salomé.
"What we're trying to do," says McBride, "to a large degree, is fill a gap. There's a lot of work available from various companies, but there's a constant emphasis on new work, and there's a shortage of people producing what might be described as the classic canon - so, in market terms, we're filling that niche."
Directed by Mairead McGrath, An Grianan's revival of Dancing At Lughnasa represents the theatre's most ambitious endeavour to date, with a month-long national touring schedule that stretches from Letterkenny to Tallaght's Civic Theatre. The casting offers an intriguing mix of established names, such as Kate O'Toole, Eleanor Methven, Janet Moran and Morna Regan, alongside a brace of talented Donegal actors such as Cathleen Bradley, Dessie Gallagher and Jack Quinn.
"The Donegal element is always important to us," says McBride, "and we would put an emphasis on casting from the acting talent available from Donegal - where it's appropriate, naturally. We don't do that for the sake of it. This time out, I think we've found an excellent combination of talents."
For actress Bradley, a native of nearby Ballybofey with an impressive film, TV and theatre credits to her name, the opportunity to come home is always a welcome one. "I grew up doing stuff here in the Balor Theatre, so to finally get to come back and do a big production like this, of this particular play, with An Grianan - it's a great honour to be asked, really. To have a Donegal show in Donegal, it's something that people here really want to see."
Run by local legend Ciaran Quinn, Ballyboffey's Balor Theatre still represents the old guard of theatre in Donegal, playing host to a steady stream of amateur productions and overseeing a series of successful Community Education schemes offering training in numerous aspects of theatre. For Jack Quinn, another Balor alumni, their work remains essential.
"The Balor gave me the experience. If an artist is going to paint a painting, he's going to paint a lot of bad ones before he produces masterpieces and I wouldn't have had the opportunities to act here otherwise. They are totally unique in Donegal in that way, and the work they do is essential, nurturing local audiences, telling stories by local people, reflecting their own experiences - it's an important service to provide in this part of the country. The theatrical tradition goes back a long way, and it's a privilege to be involved in it."
Having produced a host of successful talents, developing Donegal's theatre scene remains a work in progress. "There isn't enough work to keep me here," says Bradley. "An Grianan is the only professional theatre company in Donegal, and in the end everything is in Dublin. You have to go where the work is." Indeed, practicality dictated that initial rehearsals for the production took place in Dublin, where the majority of the cast is based.
"I would love to think that, maybe in a few years time, if we can produce more work, that there would be a motivation for people to stay here in Donegal. Right now, however, we're only doing two productions a year, and that's not enough to sustain anybody's livelihood. We're able to provide people with an opportunity to work at home, however, even if it's just for a short time, and that in itself is something extremely positive," says McBride.
While a revival of Dancing At Lughnasa - an ongoing amateur drama staple - may not strike some as a particularly thrilling prospect, the vagaries of arts funding has seen the last few years offer much reward to companies and practitioners exploring the theatrical arts, while largely neglecting the dramatists responsible for our theatrical heritage. In the case of Lughnasa, an unsentimental, moving work that says as much about the vagaries of small town Ireland as any number of flashier contemporary works, bringing Friel back to Donegal makes absolute, urgent sense.
"It's true of all people that they like to see work that reflects their own experience," says McBride, "and I certainly wouldn't suggest that Donegal is only interested in seeing stories about itself, because that's not my experience with An Grianan.
"That said, when it comes to producing work, we do want to tell Donegal stories because we're here, basically, and we want to put that on a wider platform for people to see. Lughnasa is not a new play, but I hope that we can invest a new energy into it and tell the story in a way that rings true, because, in the end it's rooted in this county."
Dancing At Lughnasa runs at An Grianan Theatre, Letterkenny (October 24th-November 2nd); Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo (Nov 4th-6th); Riverside Theatre, Coleraine (7th-9th); Burnavon Arts & Cultural Centre, Cookstown (11th-12th); The Market Place, Armagh (13th-14th); Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen (15th-16th); Cork Opera House, Cork (19th-23rd); and The Civic Theatre, Tallaght, Dublin (25th-30th). For information call: 074-20777