This
is only the second play by Rebecca Lenkiewicz,
who already is being hailed
as a bright, new important addition to the theater scene for her
“gift for combining the lyrical and the eccentrically comic” and
her “shrewd psychological insights.” (Paul Taylor, The
Independent) Set in
Sligo, Ireland, it concerns the Kennedy family, deserted by
the mother fifteen years ago, leaving her three daughters, her
alcoholic husband (David Bradley), and her mother Lily, played
with verve by Annette Crosbie. Into their
lives arrives a handsome young screen actor (John Light) to lodge
with them while a film crew shoots a movie about the love of William
Butler Yeats and Maud Gonne. He dances with Lily and has
an affair with Rose (Justine Mitchell), one of the sisters.
Meanwhile, the oldest sister Judith (Susan Lynch) joins
her father in a drinking contest in the pub, abandoning her usual
responsibilities and looking up a former lover. (Lloyd Hutchinson).
Ms. Lenkiewicz wins praise from
Benedict Nightingale of the Times for the “
movingly reported and beautifully written” offstage meeting
between Judith and her mother.
Lucy Bailey directed the play at the Cottesloe
Theatre. National Theatre website: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.
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