OVERVIEW

• Playwright

  John Boyd 

• Setting

  The present.

• Synopsis

  The Catholic working-class Donellan family live in a block of flats in 1969 Belfast, which is being patrolled by the British army. The women of the family are anti-violence, but the men seek to actively defend the home and family, describing the struggle of life as being that of privilege versus underprivilege, rather than motivated by religious difference. With tension rising in the area, an angry Protestant crowd begins to march on the flats; meanwhile, a neighbour of the Donellans, and one of the last remaining Protestants in the flats, runs into the street to get help for her ailing mother. Tragedy results, and the play ends with death and mourning.

• Play Type

  Plays General
  

  Number Of Acts

  Full-Length

Cast size

• Male

  8

• Female

  3

• Total

  11

Original Production

• Date of First Production

  15 March 1971

• Producer

  Produced by Lyric Theatre

• Original Venue

  Lyric Theatre
  

Source Of Information

Information for this entry was taken from the published script, and from the original production programme and press cuttings held at the Theatre and Performing Arts Archive of the Linen Hall Library, Belfast.