Abbey theatre, Dublin
Barbara Bergin’s tale follows four families through strikes in the slums, the Easter Rising, the early years of independence and the HIV-Aids crisis of the 1980s
In Barbara Bergin’s epic “losers’ history” of Dublin, street names tell their own story. Tosser’s Pot leads to Cutpurse, then from Pokes Alley to Kiphouse Row. For the residents of the inner-city tenement building where the action opens in 1880, choices are starkly circumscribed and lives are cut short by poverty, disease or violence.
Covering 100 years of life in this house, the narrative traces four families, their lives intertwined through generations, with trauma recurring – to women in particular – echoing the spirit of Seán O’Casey. The historical backdrop is outlined in broad brush: from strikes in the slums to revolution and war, through the early years of the independent state, to the heroin and HIV-Aids crises of the 1980s.
At Abbey theatre, Dublin, until 31 January
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