REVIEW: DANCING AT LUGHNASA AT BRISTOL CANTEEN (25/03/11)
You’ve gotta love the way Bristol puts it’s unique spin on things and with theatre, there are an increasing number of non-typical venues getting involved in hosting plays. The Ala Tavern pub in Clifton has been doing it for years and now the Canteen in Stokes Croft is getting in on the act. Remarkably, the bustle of the bar beneath did nothing to distract from the compelling performance taking place upstairs and in fact the only brief interruption from the outside world was a blaring ambulance siren. This meant that we could get completely absorbed into the glorious nostalgia of Ireland in the 1930s. Dancing at Lughnasa, a play by Brian Friel, is a touching tale of the breakdown of family life. It follows the fortunes (or lack of) of the Mundy family (five sisters, one brother, one bastard boy and one absent father). Tensions rise as the motley crew struggle to make ends meet and balance their responsibilities with their desire for fun and freedom. Top marks must go to Rebecca Joliffe, whose portrayal of mum-of-one Christina, was wholly believable and undeniably moving. The scenes with her child’s father, Gerry (played by Phillip Baker) were among the highlights of the play (that and some awesome dance moves). Her Irish accent was fantastic too, along with the heart-warmingly down to earth and funny Maggie. The family’s disciplinarian (or spoil sport as the simple wee sister Rose would see it) was Kate. In this production, Kate was a very unlikeable character but at times it was hard to tell whether the writer, Friel, intended her to be so disliked. The quiet librarian-esque Agnes was never far from the side of her childlike sister Rose (played by an adorable Kayleigh Cassidy) and the rappor between the pair was easy to see. The whole play was narrated by Anthony Garnham, who played the grown-up bastard kid Michael. His forlorn delivery of the facts of the story was melancholic to the core but helped punctuate the scenes with a wider understanding of the overall plot. It’s a shame they didn’t have a child playing him in the relevant scenes as it took a couple of minutes to get why the girls were addressing an empty space. The use of music in this production was brilliant, everything was perfectly timed and added to the overall atmosphere of the play. Here’s hoping this has paved the way for a whole new wave of theatre from Full Theatre Company at The Canteen.
Words: Laura Williams
Photo: Theo Cowan
