"The Plough and the Stars" at the Irish Repertory Theatre through June 22, 2019

Maryann Plunkett, Sarah Street and Ed Malone   Photo credit: Carol Rosegg

It would be very easy to be under the delusion that I was not, in fact, at the Irish Repertory Theater in NYC but rather at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre so resonant is the forthright Irish-ness of their terrific production of Sean O’Casey’s “The Plough and the Stars.” What an audience can expect is that this grandly lyrical almost epic drama is vibrantly alive with characters mainly damaged by the disabling events of the times. The eminent dramatist had a patriotic zeal and a hearty political conscience that reflected his own passionate involvement. That O’Casey set his play during the inflammatory Easter Rebellion of 1916 can only be lauded. He notably fused his heartfelt drama with the cause of Irish Republicans in their attempt to end British rule.

Director Charlotte Moore has graced the first portions of the play with a lively pace but also a respect for a stunning change in pace during the last poignant scenes -- a mad scene as melodramatic as that in an old opera; a disturbing exchange between two British soldiers, and a lengthy death scene -- that Moore and her fine company handle with commendable sensitivity. With that, the play’s perspective remains as constant and uncompromising as do the  “troubles” they depict.

Although complacent audiences may no longer riot, as they did following the 1926 Abbey Theater premier, the seething and anguish that the play provokes says a lot for its contemporary appeal. From my vantage point, I could not detect a nodding head or the rustle of programs during any part of the performance. 

That we are able to feel the eloquence and wit of O’Casey’s prose is no small advantage within the Irish Reps cozy space. Charlie Corcoran’s evocative settings -- four distinct locales revealed on a revolving stage are rather amazing in both design and in their execution. Excellent atmospherics are provided by Michael Gottlieb’s lighting and Ryan Rumery & M. Florian Staab’s effective sound.

The power of “The Plough...” is such that it transcends the nearly St. Vitus-afflicted Maryann Plunkett who all but danced an evening’s jig as the vociferous Bessie Burgess. She was certainly in step with the rampantly Gaelic expressiveness around her. You could also see it most plainly in the head strong performance by Michael Mellamphy the carpenter with the spunk of a troll and the spirit of a leprechaun.

The play is so filled with a blend of artifact and fancy that is makes your own head spin, especially when watching Una Clancy as the ever blabbering Mrs. Gogan rattle her jaw in a seemingly non-stop stream of consciousness. What’s not to enjoy about the heated bickering between James Russell as The Young Covey, the ardent socialist and Robert Langdon Lloyd as the old guard’s Uncle Peter. 

A rowdy pub scene is enlivened by the earthy presence of an amusingly flamboyant Rosie (Sarah Street) the house prostitute. You are sure to feel the tug of emotions and the call of duty between Nora (Clare O’Malley) and Jack (Adam Petherbridge), the ill-fated young lovers. 

This is a play in which feelings run hot and cold for this closely-knit if also contentious group of political people, all of whom are caught up in the ravages of revolution and the vestiges of independence. O’Casey’s characters -- robust, chauvinistic, prideful and insufferable -- offer a realistic but also poetic view of Irish life.

This is the third play in its series by O’Casey produced by the Irish Rep. this year -- “The Shadow of a Gunman,” and “Juno the Paycock” being the others and also excellent.) Harsh and funny, painful and purposeful,  “The Plough and the Stars” is a grand taste of Irish theater at its most boisterous and blistering.