New staging of An Beal Bocht in Town Hall
By Charlie Mcbride
BELFAST’S AISLING Ghéar Theatre Company come to the Town Hall studio next week with their hilarious staging of Flann O’Brien’s classic comic novel An Béal Bocht/The Poor Mouth.
This is a new adaptation for the stage by Bríd Ó Gallchoir, artistic director of the company with contributions from Gearóid Ó Cairáillean and Owen McCafferty.
Originally published in 1941, An Béal Bocht is a two-fingered salute to all things “excessively, excessively and excessively” Gaelic and it is widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish-language novels of the 20th century.
It tells the story of one Bonaparte O’Coonassa - “son of Michealangelo, son of Patrick, son of Owen, son of Sarah, son of Thomas, son of Maire” - who was born in a cabin in a fictitious village called Corca Dhorcha in western Ireland. From the front door of this “small lime-white house situated in the corner of the Glen” you could (allegedly) see Gweedore, Connemara, Galway, Aran, and The Great Blaskets.
Famed as much for its beauty as the abject, relentless and “much prized” poverty of its residents, the daily fare consists of potatoes, potatoes, and yet more potatoes, which are shared with a horse called Charlie, a bunch of sheep, “a slim thighed cow”, a clutch of chickens, and Ambrose the pig. You are invited to discover buried treasure, underwater homes, and the perils of marathon Irish dancing.
Aisling Ghear’s staging of the story features Donncha Crowley, Melanie Clark Pullen, and Tony Devlin. The play is performed in Irish but, for non-Gaeilgeoirs, there is also a simultaneous translation service available via headphones. The show lasts for 1 hour and 10 minutes with no interval.
Aisling Ghear were founded in 1997 and are Ireland’s only professional theatre company working full-time to deliver great shows through Irish. They have produced and toured work of consistently high quality from Machiavelli, Yeats, Tom Murphy, Rosemary Jenkinson, Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Eoghan Ó Tuairisc, Brian Friel, Dario Fo, Willy Russell, and Marie Jones.
An Béal Bocht is at the Town Hall studio this Monday and Tuesday at 8.30pm. Tickets are €15/12 through 091 - 569777.
Due to industrial action by public sector workers next Tuesday, that evening’s scheduled performance of An Beal Bocht might be relocated to Nun’s Island Theatre. Anyone wishing to see the show that evening should check with the Town Hall for confirmation of this arrangement.
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