The Quiet Land by Malachy McKenna – Lunchtime Theatre at 3 John’s Quay
Two elderly farmers, Eamon and Nashee, meet at a gate on a remote hillside. These men are old friends, old rivals, old neighbours. They are men of heart, of humour, of hardness. Their conversation is a throwback to a gentler time, when silence was as telling as declaration, and meaning was more often found between the lines than on them. But there’s nothing gentle about today’s conversation. In facing the bitter reality of their remote defiance, they have grown fearful and desperate. Now they are forced to confront each other with some heart-breaking truths that test their friendship to its limit.
The Quiet Land is a celebration of the humour, resilience and endearing innocence of an exiled generation as it struggles to survive in the isolated rural Ireland of today. It is Malachy McKenna’s heartfelt tribute to a rare breed of forgotten men who live a long way in off the road. Winner of the PJ O’Connor Award 2014.
Featuring local actors Ger Cody & Brendan Corcoran, the play was directed by Philip Hardy with design team Harry Harris, Joan Brennan, and Vincent Dempsey. As part of the AKA Fringe Festival 2022, Barnstorm launched its Lunchtime Theatre in collaboration with the Home Rule Club.