Lucy Mortell takes an in-depth analysis of Deirdre Kinahan’s Wild Sky, and dissects the dramatic structure of the piece.
There has been no shortage of events to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Rising, but Wild Sky, a poignant play set in Dublin city during the events that led up to the Rising brings its own fresh perspective. This production of Deirdre Kinahan’s play is funded by Meath County Council and the action takes place on the outskirts of Dublin. Kinahan explores how the events that took place in the City Centre rippled through the county and the entire country. Wild Sky takes a sensitive look at the cost of the Rising to the nation and to the private lives of ordinary people.
A graduate of UCD, Kinahan is a Dublin-based playwright and the founder of Tall Tales Theatre Company. She was commissioned to write the play by the Meath County Council Arts Officer, Gerardette Bailey, to commemorate the Rising. In her introductory note for the production, Kinahan admits that she was daunted at the prospect of writing a play about such a momentous event. She decided to look at the Rising from a rural perspective – looking to the dramatic events in Dublin from nearby County Meath. While the play is a work of fiction, Kinahan says she was inspired by human experience and passion. During her research she uncovered the many different views of the Rising at the time. To reflect this reality she uses two narrators to guide her audience through the play.
This production takes place at the Bewley’s Café Theatre – a fitting Dublin City Centre landmark for a play with Dublin at its centre. With just three performers, the play tells the love story of Josie Dunne and Tom Farrell and their friend Mike Lowrey against the backdrop of the political and military unrest. This is a strong cast made up of three Irish Times Theatre Awards nominated actors, UCD graduate Caitriona Ennis as Josie and Ian Toner as Tom. Live music, which supports the play, is arranged and composed by Grammy award winner Susan McKeown and performed by Mary Murray on stage.
“With an empty grey stage and all three performers donning plain grey clothing for the entirety of the performance, the script was always the intended focal point.”
The play gets off to a powerful start set against the background of the retreat from the GPO. The story unfolds as Tom and Josie reflect on the recent happenings in their small tightknit community. The core of the narrative revolves around three central characters: Josie, Tom and their childhood friend Mike, whom we never meet. A love triangle is exposed with Tom who pines for Josie, while Josie only has eyes for Mike. We see how the trio deal with this personal drama as the political upheaval surrounds them. To Josie’s disgust, Mike joins the British Army and she responds by joining up with Inghinidhe na h’Eireann and the Irish Women’s Suffrage League. Tom joins the rebels in Dublin in the hope of winning Josie’s affections. We hear Tom telling of his journey home from the GPO and his thoughts on the whole affair while separately we hear Josie telling us of her memories of their radicalisation through the various events and scenarios they shared.
This play has no dialogue. All the speech is presented in a series of individual monologues. This structure presents its own challenges for the audience, and it is complicated further as Tom and Josie’s narratives lie in two completely different points in time, so it’s quite easy for the audience to get lost as the characters never verbally interact with each other. The audience needs to pay attention and must be entirely invested in both characters’ stories to follow the narrative. Both actors rise to this challenge, however. Toner and Ennis catch and keep their audience’s attention throughout, delivering incredibly moving and captivating performances that leave everyone watching clinging to every word. While their stories are separate, they remain connected throughout. Without ever speaking to each other, each offered a ghostlike presence during the other’s speeches. Whether they moved, sometimes unbearably close to the other, or acted as a muse, there was always a powerful connection between the two characters. They made the audience laugh, cry and feel uncomfortable at all the right moments.
Murray’s presence seemed almost intrusive as she intermittently burst into song throughout, but her presence provided a crucial dramatic device that supported the narrative. She represented different female characters through movement, body language and slight shifts in facial expressions.
The stage in Bewley’s theatre is small and the sparse set and no props means sole focus is on the actors. Directed by Jo Mangan, the space was utilised incredibly well. Mangan skilfully made the reliance on monologues dynamic through clever choreography, movement and pause.
The costume and set design were simple and beautiful. With an empty grey stage and all three performers donning plain grey clothing for the entirety of the performance, the script was always the intended focal point. Moments of significance were highlighted by lighting with subtle changes and pulling the narrative along making up for the absence of any props, set changes or indication of time on stage. The only way the audience could follow the story was by paying close attention to the speeches. The simplicity and minimalism of the design ensured the complexity of the script could be fully appreciated.
Deirdre Kinahan’s play explores new ways of thinking about socialism, nationalism and feminism. Through a well-written story, beautiful music, extraordinary performances, simple design and a historic year for national pride, Kinahan and Mangan have created an outstanding theatrical experience. In her programme note, Kinahan hopes to inspire her audience to look back at an extraordinary time and Wild Sky manages to do exactly that.
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