Married to the Sea @ Assembly Rooms

The Fringe being what it is, there is a plethora of 'worthy' projects in town, where the advertising blurb alone almost has you welling up. And, the Fringe being what it is, said projects can be hit or miss: evidence of equality in action. Fortunately, Married to the Sea falls into the former category, making it a double whammy: a play that carries an important message, and also a damn fine piece of theatre. Set in the dying years of a millennia-old Irish fishing community, The Claddagh, the production is an object lesson in the intense quality that can be achieved on a budget.

The set is virtually non-existent, the props minimal and the only costume changes to speak of are as simple as putting on or taking off a coat or headscarf; tis the actors donning the garment and occupying the empty space that carry the illusion, and they prove to be more than up to the task. Siobhan Donnellan collected a well-deserved Outstanding Actor Award at the New York Fringe for her role as Jo, a young girl in the community whose combination of naivety and guts provides much of the pathos as she watches the modern world encroach upon culture and heritage. Fiachra O’Dubhghaill (man, he must get some interesting typos in reviews) should be commended not only for playing seven characters, but for making each one startlingly distinctive. Occasionally the pacing drops a little, and the inclusion of song threatens to actually break the spell. But overall, Married to the Sea is a beautiful, quietly passionate poem to a lost age and people.