REVIEW: Sive

Last weekend saw the Bardic group take 'Sive' to CRAIC Theatre, as audience members were treated to a stellar cast of old faithfuls and a couple of undoubtedly new staples on the local theatre circuit. Keane’s 'Sive' is a melodramatic comment on life in 1950s Ireland, in which Keane condemns the societal norms of arranged marriage with the promise of money and land, as well as giving an insight into the mindsets of the period. It is reminiscent of earlier melodrama by the likes of John M. Synge and Dion Boucicault, who along with Keane are playwrights that the local theatre groups should utilise more often.

In this production of 'Sive', the Bardic group dealt a killer blow to the opinion that amateur dramatics is what the small town/country folk have to settle for as all the professionals are in the big city theatres. This production wouldn’t look out of place in London’s West End due to the calibre of the performances by the actors involved. To pick a stand-out performance would be impossible as each and every actor on stage was of a professional standard. Ann McCourt played Mena with slightly less venom than Keane may have intended but the subtle style employed by her coupled with her naturalness on stage was very successful. Frances Jordan played a blinder as the old grandmother, and endeared the audience to her immediately. Her walk, her facial expressions, the way she sat with her knees uncouthly apart, the contrasting ways in which she spoke to Sive and Mena, everything about her performance was comment worthy. Jim McKeown may have been the actor to get into his role the most, as his portrayal of Thomasheen Sean Rua was injected with lots of little nuances, such as biting his nails (or the skin around his nails…), warming his hands at the fire, and sneakily looking out through the window. Veteran Frank Fee looked right at home in the rural Irish house and, as can be expected, delivered another natural and commendable performance as the browbeaten husband and son. Sive was played by Anna Deery, and she was perfect for the part as she conveyed a sense of innocence, naiveté, youth, powerlessness and helplessness – everything Keane intended Sive to be.

Already a well known and lauded piece of the theatre, the Bardic knew that with 'Sive' they were running with a crowd pleaser. However, the way in which it was done is what made it so memorable. The set was convincing, the directing was spot on, the music between scenes was haunting, but overall it was the quality of the acting that made this an evening out to be talked about over the breakfast table the next morning for all the right reasons. With such powerful performances, many audience members simply wouldn’t have had the strength to talk about it afterwards due to the emotional ending. There was no gradual standing ovation here, but instead the audience instantly rose to their feet. This is a local production that will be remembered for some time.