Sarah Casey, the Beauty of Ballinacree, has aspirations to be married by a priest to the tinker Michael Byrne in The Tinker’s Wedding. But his mother, the “old flagrant heathen” Mary Byrne, has other ideas. The boisterous Mary steals Sarah’s hard-earned savings to spend on a pint, and the two scuffle as the wedding day dawns. When the priest can’t be paid the shilling and tin can he has been promised, Sarah turns her wrath on Mary, and we begin to wonder if the pagan rituals of peasants aren’t perhaps more honorable than the behavior of a corrupt priest.
Two by Synge pairs early masterpieces by JM Synge, inspired by the stories he heard and witnessed while living among poor Irish peasants (at the behest of none other than WB Yeats) at the turn of the twentieth century. Synge celebrates the hardscrabble lives of country people, especially the headstrong and powerful women.
Synge began composing The Shadow of the Glen and The Tinker’s Wedding in the summer of 1902. Glen was finished first and premiered in 1903 at the Molesworth Hall, Dublin. Wedding was not completed until December 1907. It premiered at His Majesty’s Theatre in London in 1909, seven months after Synge’s death at 37 from Hodgkin’s disease. Wedding was poorly received in its time, and did not receive a performance at the Abbey Theatre until 1971. In the years after Glen‘s premiere, the Abbey Theatre players toured the United States, led by Lady Gregory, and performed Glen in their repertory.
COVID Safety Information:
You’ll need to provide proof that you are at least two weeks past your full vaccination and have a photo ID.
All guests must wear a properly fitting approved face mask over their nose and mouth at all times in the theatre, even while in their seats.
We strongly encourage audience members to use a surgical mask, KN95 or N95 mask and will provide approved masks upon request.
Age Guidance: 12
Performance Schedule:
WEDNESDAYS & SATURDAYS @ 2:30 & 7:30 PM
THURSDAYS @ 7 PM
FRIDAYS @ 7:30 PM
SUNDAYS @ 2:30 PM
Director
Charlotte Moore
Written by
John Millington Synge