The Valley Of The Squinting Windows – Gaiety Theatre – Review
by Brian Merriman

Produced by Mullingar Arts Centre – Centre for the Performing Arts CTD, City Theatre Dublin and The Gaiety Theatre.

Photos by Ste Murray
Written and Directed by Michael Scott.
Duration 175 minutes including an interval

‘The Valley of the Squinting Windows’ as a descriptive phrase was often used to describe the collective behaviour of an incestuous, preoccupied, more bigoted Ireland of a previous century. It is actually the title of a novel written by Brinsley Mc Namara in 1918.

Adapted by multi-tasking theatre artist Michael Scott, who is the writer and director of the production, while also acting as set and lighting designer.  This production has a cast of many, from talented children, hard-working teenagers and accomplished adults playing different roles. With World War One as a backdrop, our small village thrives on scandal, personal misery and God.

Ciara O’Callaghan plays the challenging role of ‘Nan Brennan’ whose back story is the underscore of the present action. The play is more about her story than her character. Though there are huge parallels with her earlier unhappy experience as a young woman. History repeats itself with the next generation, beautifully led by Stefan Brennan-Healy as her sensitive son ‘John’, who is in his final year of studying for the priesthood. ‘A son a priest’ is the final redemption for seamstress Nan’s troubled past and unhappy marriage.

Nan was in a relationship with the son of the Big House, Henry Shannon. She fell pregnant but this was covered up, only for the nasty stories to re-emerge again with the arrival of Henry’s son ‘Ulick’ (a suave Peter Rothwell) who pursues a newly arrived teaching assistant ‘Rebecca Kerr’ (a beautiful study by Siobhan Callaghan).

These three young people all coincide in the village during Spring and Summer.  They are manipulated by Ulick’s Uncle ‘Myles Shannon’ (a vengeful Philip Judge) whose plot for revenge, ultimately backfires with new victims, coincidences of birth, ostracisation and the ruination of another generation, who become part of the ‘Shannon curse’.

Scott uses multimedia in this period piece, which the actors play to good effect. It’s a busy production with a hard-working teenage cast who fluidly manage the props too, and lots of chorus crossovers. The use of microphones for dialogue in a theatre built for acoustic drama, matches the multi-media approach to the production.

The lengthy presence onstage of the postmistress steaming open letters throughout the production is an overcooked distraction.

The harshness of the villager’s condemnatory outlook is sprinkled with generous comedic moments, recreating the village hall concerts enjoyed by the audience and lots of ‘balls of malt’.

John’s sensitivity is a stark contrast to the bigotry in the Brennan family, which drives the script along. John has not been emotionally ‘detached’ by his years in the repressive seminary or by his Mother’s judgmental outbursts. His innocence and empathy bridge the vacuum of the barren, bored valley and the hopes and ambitions of the new generation. His well-played emotional dilemmas are the pulse of this new adaptation.

It’s a busy production with lots of activity from the large onstage chorus. The talented supporting adult cast also includes the magical presence of Geraldine Plunkett as village blackmailer ‘Marse Prendergast’.

This production has a large cast which gives a new generation of actors valuable experience while sharing a stage with a seasoned adult ensemble.

The production blends a range of theatrical genres that challenge the period setting. There is a lovely musical underscore, to a plot of an Ireland long gone, which inhibited the potential of youth by forcibly conforming them to predetermined, narrow expectations, rather than fulfilling their own youthful potential.

Despite being almost three hours, the production moved swiftly, aided by the many layers of the multi-faceted production that always pushed the pace and maintained our dramatic interest.