50 Years of Irish Theater in East Haven

For the past 50 years, the New Haven Gaelic Players, based at the New Haven Gaelic Football and Hurling Club and Irish American Community Center in East Haven, Conn., have performed Irish dramas with a cast of Irish and American actors. In this anniversary year, the group will perform “The King of Friday’s Men” by M.J. Molloy directed by Brian Beirne.

“It’s fitting that ‘The King of Friday’s Men’ is the production we’re staging for our 50th anniversary,” says Gaelic Players founder and artistic director Charlie Starrs. “Ever since I saw this play in Northern Ireland in the 1960s, I’ve never forgotten it and I’ve wanted to produce it. With many different sets and roles, it’s not an easy play to put on. I’m thrilled that in our 50th year, the stars have aligned for us to pull off this remarkable work.”

The cast of the production includes Starrs’ daughter, Thelma Starrs. His wife, Margaret Starrs, will do makeup for the show, and she and the couple’s other children have also appeared in Gaelic Players productions over the years.

Written in 1948, “The King of Friday’s Men” takes place in County Mayo in the 1780s and centers on a woman, Una, who runs away and orchestrates a deception to avoid unwanted advances from her landlord. At the time, wealthy English landlords could assert dominance over single female tenants at will. It’s a story that adds historical perspective to the current national conversation around sexual assault.

“My character is a ‘tallywoman,’” says Doreen Busca who plays Maura Pender in her 10th production with the Gaelic Players. “She’s a lower class, single woman who is forced by her landlord to be his lover. It’s hard to stomach, but this is something that really went on. The fact that the situation is so repulsive to a modern audience shows how far we’ve come with women’s rights, but with all of the abuse and misconduct from high profile men that has come to light this year, it’s easy to see how far we have yet to go.”

In addition to commentary on gender and class, the “The King of Friday’s Men” also contains a great deal of humor and is a fascinating window into the era it portrays. It’s a play about divided loyalties that, despite the serious subject matter, is often lighthearted in tone. The story also revolves around shillelagh fighting, an ancient Irish martial tradition.

“There’s so much to like about this piece, but to me the most wonderful thing about it is the authentic 18th century Irish dialect,” says Brian Beirne, who is directing his third production for the Gaelic Players. “It really immerses you in the time and place of the story. The language is at once alien, with turns of phrase very far removed from the way we speak today, and yet quite relatable in its wit and expressiveness."

When

Performances at 7:30 PM Wednesday November 7 – Saturday November 10

Sunday matinee performance at 2pm on November 11

Where

Irish American Community Center

9 Venice Pl, East Haven, CT

Tickets

$20 at http://gaelicplayers.bpt.me

Or reserve at 203-318-8258 / gaelicplayerstickets@yahoo.com

Cast

• Gaisceen Brehony - Paul Tynan, New Haven
• Una Brehony - Jillian Simms, Deep River
• Owen Fenigan - Michael DePascale, Shelton
• Maura Pender - Doreen Busca, Hamden
• Bartley Dowd - Mick Malone, Milford
• Boorla - Paul Pender, Durham
• Rory Commons - Peter Lynch, New Haven
• Kitty - Siobhan Dacey, Hamden
• Biddy - Thelma Starrs , Wallingford
• Murty - Cathal Burke, New Haven
• Caeser French - Jon Leone, Wallingford