Dancing at Lughnasa - Definition

Dancing at Lughnasa (see references to Lughnasa, or Lughnasahd, the ancient pagan ritual) is a play by Brian Friel set in Ireland's County Donegal in August 1936. Set in the fictional town of Ballybeg (small town in Gaelic), it is a memory play told from the point of view of Michael, the narrator. He recounts the summer in his aunts' cottage when he was seven years old.

Summary

The five Mundy sisters, all unmarried, live in a small cottage outside of town. Kate, the oldest, is a school teacher and the only sister with a job. Agnes and Rose knit gloves to be sold in town and help keep the house with Maggie and Chris (Michael's mother) who have no income at all. Recently returned home is their brother Jack, a priest who has lived as a missionary in a leper colony in Uganda for 25 years. He is suffering from malaria and has trouble remembering many things, including the sisters' names and his English vocabulary. Gerry, Michael's father, is charming and completely unreliable. A clown and a vagabond he visits rarely and always unannounced. He has another family back in Wales, although that doesn't stop him from proposing to Chris. He has returned this time to tell her he's is joining the International Brigade to fight in the Spanish Civil War.

Production history

First produced in 1990 at the Abbey Theater in Dublin it then moved to Broadway. The most recent major production was at Dublin's Gate Theater in 2004.

It was made into a film in 1998 starring Meryl Streep as Kate and directed by Pat O'Connor.

External links

• IMDB film listing (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120643/)