By J.M.Synge
Directed by Garry Hynes
Richmond Theatre
19th – 23rd May

What a wonderful production of a wonderful play. When this play was originally produced in 1907 there were riots in the streets. W.B.Yeats, the founding light of the Abbey theatre in Dublin where the play was being staged, had been sent a telegram at the end of the first act, “play great success”; but by the end of the play a second one had to be dispatched “Audience broke up in disorder at the word shift”. For weeks there were trials of those arrested for public disorder and at each trial the play had to be explained and yet more public disorder broke out. If one of the purposes of drama is to court controversy then this play came home in spades.

The story is simple enough, Pegeen Mike (Clare Dunne) is to be left alone looking after the country pub or shebeen while her father, Michael James Flaherty (John Olohan), goes to a wake. Shawn Keogh (Marcus Lamb), who is sweet on Pegeen, does not want to stay for fear of what the priest and the Widow Quinn (Derbhle Crotty) will make of it all. Into this setting comes a very sorry and bedraggled specimen, Christy Mahon (Aaron Monaghan), who in exhaustion reveals he is on the run from the Police and when pressed confesses he has murdered his father, Old Mahon (Andrew Bennett). Nobody would trouble Pegeen if a murderer was on the premises, so off goes Michael James and this, now notorious, stranger becomes a magnet to all the young and not so young girls in the village, he is the Playboy of the Western World.

There are some truly memorable performances and beautifully taut relationships in this production. The girls in the village (Gemma Reeves, Seóna Tully and Christiane O’Mahony) are at a frenzy of emotion over this dangerous playboy much to the chagrin of the eligible men (Andy Kellegher and Aidan Kelly). Their powerful performances are only the tip of the iceberg compared to relationship between Pegeen Mike and the Widow Quinn. No holds are barred as these two scrap over their man, all the time the playboy and his reputation swell on stage and then, back from the death, comes his Da, the resurrection of Old Mahon. Two very powerful performances grace this relationship between Christy and his Da.
The play courted so much controversy because of its portrayal of Irish womanhood and their lust for this playboy. No respectable Irish woman would throw herself so wantonly at such a disreputable person. There in part of the strength of this play, that Synge was able to so accurately write about true emotions in a village community. What makes the play to great is his ability to write lines with so much natural poetry. What makes this production so memorable are that those emotions and poetry are so natural and unforced and yet so eminent. Congratulations to the director, Garry Hynes and to all of the production team.

Reviewed by Evan Rule