Seán Tadhg Ó Gairbhí reviews Jude at An Taibhdhearc in Galway while Michael DervanBenedetti and the RTÉ NSO/Markson at NCH in Dublin

Jude
An Taibhdhearc,
Galway

The domestic drama in which confrontation leads to the disclosure of some dark family secret is well-trodden territory. Jude is a flawed but engaging treatment of familiar themes that rises above the formulaic, thanks largely to writer Micheál Ó Conghaile's wonderful facility with the Connemara dialect, which is, unfortunately, not shared by all of the actors. While director Seán Ó Tárpaigh handles the simmering tension with skill, there is a lack of subtlety in the development of key relationships and characters, a flaw that is exacerbated by a tendency to over-emote in critical scenes. This means the transition from an atmosphere of furtive grievance to one of open hostility is not as smooth or as credible as it might have been.

In the title role, the excellent Áine Máire Ní Óráin reaches the right note of flinty femininity as the buttoned-up picket-line veteran, but the character is so deeply unsympathetic that she struggles too hard to earn our sympathy. Peadar Cox gives an expertly measured performance as Jude's world-weary and asthmatic husband, whose wheezing manhood is the result of his own dark secret. Mairéad Ní Ógáin has her moments as Jude's fatalistic mother and is responsible for much of the play's dark humour. Tomás Mac Con Iomaire is a joy as Peaitín Rua, the earthy neighbouring farmer, and were scene-stealing a crime, Mac Con Iomaire may have faced a citizen's arrest. As Liam, boyfriend of Jude's daughter, Gráinne, Dónall Ó Héalaí also proves a brilliant young talent and gives a witty and thoroughly satisfying portrayal of callow youth. Tara Bhreathnach is suitably spirited as Gráinne, but a tendency for melodramatics is not helped by a lack of restraint in aspects of the otherwise assured direction.

Given that Ó Conghaile is a master of the short-story, Jude is at times surprisingly obvious, not least in the ham-fisted introduction of a torn wedding photograph as a metaphor for the fracturing of family life. Ó Conghaile, however, is too good a writer to resort to simply reheating kitchen-sink fare and, at its best, Jude is a bruising and unforgiving excavation of family life.

Runs at An Taibhdhearc until Friday

Seán Tadhg Ó Gairbhí

Benedetti,
RTÉ NSO/Markson
NCH,
Dublin

Nicolai - The Merry Wives of Windsor Overture.
Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto.
Beethoven - Symphony Number Seven

Otto Nicolai's magnum opus, The Merry Wives of Windsor, has long since achieved the obscurity that warrants the attention of the Wexford Festival, and it's just over 30 years since the festival did its duty in this regard. The opera's overture, however, continues to hold its place in the orchestral repertoire. It's an infectious romp and Gerhard Markson handling of it showed real affection, with atmospheric and spirited playing.

The BBC's 2004 Young Musician of the Year, Nicola Benedetti, made her Dublin debut in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. Her tone is light rather than strong, and not particularly sweet. Her range of dynamics is on the narrow side, and her intonation by no means infallible. But her music-making has presence and character, and the individual touches left no doubt as to why she won the hearts of the jury and many others since.

Markson has no truck with the modern taste for generosity of repeats in Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. Not even the first movement exposition repeat makes it through. His way with this music is taut and gutsy, the emphasis at all times on energy and drive. Apart from moments of bumpy accentuation in the slow movement, the approach worked effectively to raise the heart-rate of the listeners.

Michael Dervan