Dancing at Lughnasa

Dancing at Lughnasa is a memory play set in rural Ireland told through the perspective of Michael, recalling the summer of 1936 when he was seven and being raised by his unwed mother (Chris) and four aunts (Kate, Maggie, Agnes, Rose).

This summer was notably the first time he remembers his father, Gerry, coming for a visit and when Uncle Jack, a missionary who worked for 25 years in Uganda, unexpectedly returns home. The upcoming festival of Lughnasa and a new-fangled radio that inspires spontaneous dancing among his aunts and mother, foretell more change creeping into the rural setting.

The nationwide shift from Catholicism and widespread industrialization, combined with the shift of household dynamics with the addition of Gerry and Jack, make it a summer to remember.