With the Gaeltacht season in full flow around the country, a timely musical ‘as Gaeilge’ is running at An Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, the official National Irish Language Theatre of Ireland.
‘Saoirse’ is a heartwarming ‘ceoldráma’ set in the Kerry Gaeltacht and is running as part of the Galway International Arts Festival.
The first summer away from home is a coming-of-age story and a celebration of the Irish language as it attracts a whole new generation of speakers.
Saoirse, Róisín and Aoife are played by Ciara Cox, Evanne Kilgannon and Síofra Ní Éilí as they navigate teenage angst, first love and Irish grammar.
Síofra Ní Éilí (as Aoife), Ciara Cox (as Saoirse), and Evanne Kilgallon (as Róisín)
There is even a “Modh Coinníollach” song poking fun at the dreaded Irish conditional tense.
At its heart, the show centres on the story of young, queer love.
Saoirse is the anxious, nervous newcomer, Aoife the working-class gay outsider and Evanne is a “scene stealer” as the “mean girl” of the Gaeltacht.
The show has a cast of 10 actors and musicians and was written and composed by Shauna Carrick with co-composer Aidan Byrne and directed by Muireann Kelly.
Ms Carrick said the show taps into the growing impetus to protect our native language.
“We follow the teenagers through the trials and tribulations of the Gaeltacht which is quite a formative experience for a lot of people in Ireland.
“I particularly wanted to showcase the céilís and the complete embarrassment of having to hold hands with other people that you’ve never met before,” she said.
“I think those little sparks of romance, especially for teenagers, this is the first time that they’re away from that safe space of family, and maybe the first time trying to figure out who they are as human beings.
“Teenagers feel everything at 100% and everything that feels upsetting is devastating.
“There are no small feelings. When I told people I was writing a show about going to the Gaeltacht, everyone had a story and that was incredible for me as a writer. I was doing research just by having conversations with people and they can see themselves reflected in the show,” she added.
‘Saoirse’ also explores contemporary issues facing Gaeltacht communities including cost-of-living pressures threatening the future of rural summer colleges.
Could this be the last “Coláiste Samhraidh” ever?
Ms Carrick said Gaeltacht communities are the “last bastions of the Irish language” who are living and breathing Irish all year round and protecting the language for the rest of us.
She said Saoirse was originally intended to be a bilingual musical but the support of An Taibhdhearc gave her the confidence to write a full Irish work which she described as a “phenomenal experience” and a way of improving her own language.
Saoirse is performed in Irish with English language access provided via Sibrwd App.
The musical will finish its run in Galway on Sunday and will move to The Peacock Stage of the Abbey Theatre in September as part of Dublin Fringe Festival.