The Mundy sisters dancing

A much loved scene from Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa sees the Mundy Sisters give themselves over to the music and dancing wildly about the kitchen. Lughnasa is harvest time and is named after Lugh, the pagan God who provides rich crops.

In this image are Bríd Brennan, Catherine Byrne, Bríd Ní Neachtain and Frances Tomelty. This play was directed by Patrick Mason and went on to tour to Broadway in 1992 winning the Tony Award for Best Play.

In the programme for this production, Michael Etherton author of Contemporary Irish Dramatists wrote about the power of theatre,

“Friel is not only communicating new ways of thinking, he is also trying to show the audience how theatre does it – i.e. how the integration of writer, technicians, actors and above all the audience, creates that sudden moment of heightened awareness. The audience re-make the writer’s play in their own imaginations. They make it their own understanding.”

That opening night coincided with the opening of the new portico on the front of the building.