Theatreworkswest is staging three performances of Seán Lysaght’s new play, Achill, on November 13 and 14 at the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, and on November 18 at the Ballina Arts Centre, Ballina.
The play draws from the Greek legend of the warrior Achilles and also from the story of the troubled times in Ireland. The action centres on a local dispute: the islanders of a western island are under duress from an occupying force from the nearby mainland. Among them is Achill, a man famous for his ability to catch fish and capture whales. Repeated attempts have been made to sabotage the bridge that has been built to connect the island to the mainland, and the last of these saw Achill’s friend Patrick being killed by the invaders.
With both sides weary of the conflict, the leaders agree to a meeting on the Mullet; meanwhile Achill has fallen out with another community leader, Lermon, who believes that his wife Hanna has been estranged from him and that she now loves Achill.
As the action runs to its conclusion, Hanna laments her situation and believes her husband has wronged her. In a bitter row with Biddy, another villager whose husband was a victim of the conflict, Hanna triggers a sequence of events with tragic consequences.
Theatreworkswest is a new theatre ensemble based in Westport, under the direction of Trisha Kuester. Their previous production of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard played to sell-out audiences at the Westport Arts Festival in 2012 and was revived earlier this year at the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar.
