Irish Times writers review Where He Lies at the Belltable Arts Centre, An Scorach i Halla Scoil Éinne, An Spidéal,

Where He Lies

Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick

Patrick Lonergan

In a small Irish town in 1921 a local man serving in the British Army is shot, and then buried in an unmarked grave. His remains are never found.

Almost 70 years later, the wife of one of his killers returns to the town, asking solicitor Barry Hegarty (an excellent Alan Devlin) to find the soldier's body so that it can be given a decent burial. We learn that Hegarty has personal reasons for taking the job, which becomes increasingly difficult because of clerical and political interference.

By focusing his new play for Island Theatre Company on Hegarty's attempt to lay the dead to rest, John Barrett is exploring theatrical territory first mapped out by Sophocles's Antigone. But Where He Lies is also an urgent address to contemporary Ireland.

Most of the action takes place in 1989, in an Ireland on the verge of radical change. Part of the play's pleasure comes from our knowledge of subsequent events: Hegarty's discovery of secrets hidden by Church and State in one small town thus becomes a parable for Ireland's transformation during the 1990s.

Other directors might have presented this material in a celebratory tone, but Terry Devlin instead lingers on the truths that remain unacknowledged in our society, emphasising the parallels between Barrett's fictionalised version of 1921 and the recent exhumation of the remains of Jean McConville. Few Irish plays have considered the legacy of the War of Independence on Irish life; even fewer have dared to explore the linkages between the Northern Irish Troubles and the history of what is now the Republic of Ireland. Where He Lies courageously and convincingly tackles both.

The play works in performance, however, because the political is always channelled through the personal, as shown most impressively by Sonia Haccius's fine set, which imagines Ireland's past as a rundown home, its furniture covered in grimy dustsheets. In scope and ambition, Where He Lies is a fine example of a genuinely national theatre, giving us a compelling personal quest with broad resonances.

Runs until Saturday.

An Scorach

Halla Scoil Éinne, Spiddal, Co Galway

Breandán Delap

A dearth of new material is the explanation given by the organisers of the Galway Arts Festival for their decisionot to include a single show in Irish in this year's programme of events. This black hole theory may have to be revisited, however, in light of An Gaelacadamh's lively production of Páraic Breathnach's first stage play.

The show is based on the legend of Scorach Ghlionnáin, a Ned Kelly-type character who roamed the hills of Connemara during Famine times, stealing cattle from local landlords to feed the poor. From this old folk tale, Páraic Breathnach has crafted a thoughtful and highly entertaining yarn. Part narrative, part cabaret, An Scorach is a visual feast that blends traditional talents with innovative stagecraft.

The play features a virtuoso performance to savour from Peadar Ó Treasaigh as the narrator, moulding Breathnach's curate's egg of a script into a cohesive entity. There are strong performances also from Fionnuala Ní Ráinne, Breandán Ó Conláin, Brídín Nic Dhonncha, Éamonn Draper and Fionnuala Ní Eidhin, while Pádraic Ó Tuairisc (who co-directs the show along with Páraic Breathnach), confirms his status as one of the best Irish-language actors of his generation.

Clever use is made of props and video footage, and the pace of the action never falters. Added to this is an original score from Charlie Lennon, evoking the musical style of the time and showcasing the sean-nós singing and dancing talents of Síle Ní Scanláin and Joe Ó Neachtain.

There was a message too for the organisers of the Galway Arts Festival. There's no shortage of talent in Connemara - if you care to look for it.

Performances tomorrow, Friday and Saturday