If you're part of the remaining minority that hasn't tuned in to TG4 at one time or another, then you might expect drama as Gaelige to consist of stories about characters somewhere in the wesht of Ireland, hell-bent on whiskey-fuelled revenge over some patch of land or other. On the low budgets available, surely the whole thing would look a tad amateurish. Then there's the soundtrack. Doubtlessly it would be set to jigs and reels, or worse still, the nasal whining of some decrepit sean-nos singer. If that's your expectation, then you may be disappointed by Tri Sceal, a three-part mini-series to be broadcast on TG4 over the next three Wednesday nights. Set in an unspecific suburban location, Tri Sceal details the lives of three sets of inhabitants of a single three-storey house over one 24-hour period.
Each of the episodes spotlights the same events from three different perspectives. Taking the very human themes of deceit (Feall), greed (Saint), and revenge (Dioltas), the series culminates in a bloody murder that any one of the house's inhabitants could have committed, and for which all are in part responsible. According to producer Gerry McColgan, Tri Sceal is a psychological drama in the style of European cinema, and is unlike any home produced mini-drama series we have seen before. "This could be a European production," he says. "The product is what is important. It happens to be in Irish, but beyond that it is a good story, well produced and well directed. That's what will hold the attention."
The subtitles available on Aertel may also help, but in any case, McColgan guarantees that language will not be a barrier. "It's been viewed as an experiment by people that don't have Irish, or that don't have very good Irish, and they were able to follow it quite well." Shot on DigiBeta over five weeks this spring, the series may point the way forward for low-budget, quality programming for the domestic market. Not only are digital cameras much cheaper than the older film cameras, but they allow the image to be treated in post-production to get a desired look. In the case of Tri Sceal, that was a film-like look, despite the fact that it was shot digitally. The final budget of £360,000 is testament to the cost advantages of working digitally - it is a pittance for a series of this size. With the three episodes together coming in at just over one hour and 46 minutes, TG4 and the Irish Film Board, which co-funded the project, can be happy with the airtime they've got for the outlay involved.
But it wasn't the budget that caused the biggest problem for the film makers. Securing a location for the central setting of the drama, a large three-storey house, proved next to impossible. "The shoot was five weeks in Dublin," says McColgan. "There was a hospital location, a bar, a poolhall, school, and other exteriors of those locations. But the house was the central location and it was very difficult, particularly in this financial climate, to find a house that would be available for that number of weeks. We were three weeks shooting in the house. We went to estate agents and everything. That was our biggest obstacle. But eventually we found a house in Donnybrook that was suitable."
The middle class, suburban setting of Tri Sceal takes Irish language television drama out of its natural habitat. One of the central characters is a doctor who is brought to breaking point because of his failing marriage, difficult daughter, and imminent malpractice suit. Another character is a professional classical musician, who has harboured a terrible secret for many years. Writer Anne Learmont and director Owen McPolin have striven to make a drama where the language is incidental, a drama that would be equally at home on BBC2 or Channel 4. Maybe it's because of the film's style that already there has been interest in the series further afield. As McColgan reveals, "it's being marketed by Network Ireland Television as a foreign language film. The three episodes will be cut down into a single 104-minute television film. It'll be distributed internationally from early next year. Already there's been interest in it from France, Australia, the BBC and S4C".
McColgan's production company, Crimson Films, which is behind the project, has had successful international sales with previous productions. Most notable of these is Draiocht, which was written by and starred Gabriel Byrne, and which was the opening night film for the launch of TG4. But while the cast of Tri Sceal may not yet be as famous as Gabriel Byrne, the series does boast a number of familiar names. Enda Oates, Cathy Belton, Denis Conway, Brendan Murray and Maighread Ni Chonghaile. Director Owen McPolin also has something of a track record, having written and directed a full-length feature film, Drinking Crude, already to his credit. As McPolin is also an accomplished lighting cameraman, producer McColgan can fairly describe him as "a multi-functional kind of guy".
With its melange of sex, lies and murder, Tri Sceal may not be some kind of Making the Cut for the Gaeltacht, but it is the first substantial home-grown mini-series made for some time.
Tri Sceal will be broadcast on TG4, with subtitles available on Aertel, on successive Wednesday nights, at 10.25 p.m., from December 6th next; and will be repeated on Saturday nights, with full subtitles, from December 9th, at 10.35 p.m.