Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel

Dancing at Lughnasa is set in the fictional town of Ballybeg, Co. Donegal. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator. He recounts the summer in his unmarried mother and four spinster aunts’ cottage when he was seven years old (August 1936). Each of the five women (different from each other in temperment and capability) provide emotional support to each other (at times reluctantly). However, this summer, their elderly brother, a priest, has ”come home to die” after a lifetime in Africa, and at the same time, the boy’s father arrives, only to announce that he’s on his way to Spain to fight against Franco. Life goes on for the five sisters and they continue to cope as a close-knit group, although affected by the presence of the two men… until something happens that disrupts the very fabric of that cohesiveness beyond repair.

Directed by : Allen Flynn and Jackie Scanlan

Cast and characters:

Kate Mundy : Rachel Culligan

Rose Mundy : Emer O’Flaherty

Maggie Mundy : Brid Finnegan

Agnes Mundy : Saoirse Byrne

Chris Mundy : Tara Manning

Fr. Jack : John Finn

Gerry : Joe Varden

Narrator : Jim Manning