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Where was the 'Dancing' at Lughnasa?
By Sarah Ali
October 1, 2005 | After battling the herd of creative
arts students blocking the doors of the Morgan Theatre,
I found my seat and sat in anticipation for the performance
of Dancing at Lughnasa.
Being the music and dance fan that I am, I was excited
for the performance, because I assumed from the title
of the play that there would definitely be dancing and
music. I flipped through the program to familiarize
myself with the setting of the play: "The time
is August 1936 during the harvest festival of Lughnasa
in celebration of Lugh, the Celtic god of music and
light. The story revolves around five unmarried sisters
and Michael, all Catholic, who live a homespun life."
No specific mention of dancing, but the performance
had not yet begun. As I looked at the set on stage,
I noticed that there was only a small area to the front
that could possible have enough room for a full-out
choreographed dance. A huge ramp and a tilted house,
hardly an ideal location for dancing, occupied the rest
of the stage.
I began to think that maybe there was not as much
dancing in Dancing at Lughnasa, as I had expected.
My premonition turned out to be correct. There was as
about as much dancing in the whole performance, as you
would witness in an elevator. The music only played
at random moments in the play and the dancing came sporadically
at odd moments.
As I watched the play, disappointed in the limited
amount of dance, I tried to understand the theme and
plot of the story, hoping that through it I could rationalize
why it was called Dancing at Lughnasa. My conclusion
was the act of dancing represented the breakdown of
order and inevitability of change. As each sister struggled
with her individual problem, the stability of the whole
house began to weaken. The desire for order and the
desire for excitement, were at opposing points. The
family found itself struggling to find a place for their
firm beliefs in Christianity in their lives that were
surrounded by the practices of paganism.
When the performance was over I once again had to
hurry through the doors to avoid the student blockage
again. When though the performance was not what I expected,
it was enjoyable. The actors each played their parts
well and the characters were humorous in spite of the
depressing overtone of the play.
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