12 Days in May

dublin | arts and media | opinion/analysis Monday November 16, 2009 16:26 by Liam Griffin - Save HQ16 Moore St. Campaign liam.griffin at mymeteor dot ie 404 Tallaght Cross Hotel 0851407611

(The Last Days of James Connolly)

Brand new play about James Connolly's last days awaiting executecution.Unlike most plays about the Easter Rising where the leaders are depicted as archetypal and distant mythological figures here the protaganists strike you as human and familiar.Alternating between scenes portraying Jim,s family,his youth and the pollitical/millitary background the play is both deeply moving and informative.With a large cast of men,women & children the production itself reflects the ideals of equality and solidarity the subject deserves !
continues at Liberty Hall Theatre,Dublin until 28th.Nov.

Interestingly it was observed to me afterwards that the large number of women with full speaking parts reinforced the egalitarian sub-text to the play.Neither is there any of the tokenism or working class stereotypes in the play whatsoever i.e. drunks,whores,malingerers or half educated bar geniuses that we associate with O'Casey or Behan.The dying Jim Connolly revisits scenes from his youth,as an agitator,husband of Lillie and grieving father of his daughter Mona.Jim's rough working class manner and humour does not conceal his compassionate nature which earns the enduring respect of his comrades and captors alike.Meanwhile the villans of the play:British officers with their arrogance who want to teach Ireland a lesson or the Dublin political class with their opportunism are all played as real characters i.e. human all too human.