Theatre Review

Christ Deliver Us, by Thomas Kilroy

On Saturday 20th February a group of Ballinasloe Active Retirement members attended a new play in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, called Christ Deliver Us.
It was superb, the best play I have seen in the Abbey for some time.
Eventhough the subject matter was dark and regrettable, the whole of life in the fifties was treated so comprehensively and professionally that it was entertaining in many parts.
Our members found the play to be very open and honest as it depicts the innocence and pain of growing up in 1950s Ireland.
The playwright, Thomas Kilroy, was inspired by the German drama “Spring Awakening”. This play is about young people growing up in a repressed society
Much of Thomas Kilroy’s play is based on the author’s own school days in Kilkenny in the 1950s. The physical abuse and lack of instruction to young people was endemic in Ireland at that time.
There is a cast of 25 and the action takes place in various locations, including an Industrial School and a Diocesan College. The play is directed by Wayne Jordan and is well worth a visit.
On our journey home we had much to discuss on this complex period in Irish History.
Bridie Loughman