I attended the play Dancing at Lughnasa on November 20th in the Performing Arts Center here at Stockton. The play was a memory play of a man named Michael, back in rural Donegal in August of 1936.This took place during the harvest festival of Lughnasa. The play was of five maiden sisters, one whom is Michael’s mother, and their brother Jack. Uncle Jack, played by Rodger Jackson a honors freshmen seminar professor here at Stockton, was a missionary who had just returned from spending time in Africa. He had malaria and consequently was losing his memory and his faith.
The concept of a memory play is a lot different then the last play the PAC performed, Much Ado About Nothing. Memory plays are plays that focus on the past as narrated by the main character. Because of this point of view the audience does not necessarily see the narrator act out their role in their memory. I have never seen this type of play before, it is a very interesting concept. Because I have not seen a memory play before it made it difficult at first to understand what exactly was going on in the play. Unlike most plays, Dancing at Lughnasa did not have an underlying message to it. There was no theme, it was just a memory of a man. This was unusual for me but not necessarily bad. It was refreshing to watch a play that was different from every other one I have seen. The set of the play was very nicely done, I really enjoyed the way it was constructed. It provided some direction for one to formulate their own setting. One could just imagine the green grass outside that Michael played in, or the hallway that led to Uncle Jack’s room.
The Irish accents the actors had used were nicely done. They were very believable to the audience, and seemed to flow naturally from the actor. All of the actors were given very real and powerful roles in this play, each had successfully performed theirs. When a play is depressing and does not contain a happy ending, the characters become harder to portray. The depth of the characters is very important and is difficult to acted out properly. Over all the play, Dancing at Lughnasa, was a success in my eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to see the next play that the PAC performers have.
The concept of a memory play is a lot different then the last play the PAC performed, Much Ado About Nothing. Memory plays are plays that focus on the past as narrated by the main character. Because of this point of view the audience does not necessarily see the narrator act out their role in their memory. I have never seen this type of play before, it is a very interesting concept. Because I have not seen a memory play before it made it difficult at first to understand what exactly was going on in the play. Unlike most plays, Dancing at Lughnasa did not have an underlying message to it. There was no theme, it was just a memory of a man. This was unusual for me but not necessarily bad. It was refreshing to watch a play that was different from every other one I have seen. The set of the play was very nicely done, I really enjoyed the way it was constructed. It provided some direction for one to formulate their own setting. One could just imagine the green grass outside that Michael played in, or the hallway that led to Uncle Jack’s room.
The Irish accents the actors had used were nicely done. They were very believable to the audience, and seemed to flow naturally from the actor. All of the actors were given very real and powerful roles in this play, each had successfully performed theirs. When a play is depressing and does not contain a happy ending, the characters become harder to portray. The depth of the characters is very important and is difficult to acted out properly. Over all the play, Dancing at Lughnasa, was a success in my eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to see the next play that the PAC performers have.