Dancing at Lughnasa

Dancing at Lughnasa, a play written by Brian Frier, is a depiction of a man’s memory of his childhood. The narrator, Michael, takes us back to the warm harvest days of August 1936, when he was a seven-year-old boy being brought up by his unmarried mother Chris and her four sisters. The play, through Michael’s narration, touches on different aspects of life of the characters by exploring the occurrence of simple events which contribute an impact to their relationships. However, Michael, as a chorus figure, plays the most significant role which affects our perception of the events which unfold.

The play opens up with Michael’s first speech. “When I cast back my mind to that summer of 1936…” We see an apparent reflection of the memory through his language. This phrase is repeatedly mentioned in his first speech which reinforces the notion of reminiscing the past. On the other hand, we see as well how Frier distances Michael from the past events

Frier applies the “flashback” technique by using Michael’s memory to simply separate two elements of his character – he detaches the adult Michael from Michael the boy. This explains why the whole play has no plot at all. The narrator relates a story of what he witnessed when he was seven therefore he is relating his memory in an objective manner which simply imply that during that summer of 1936, he did not really have a complete and a deeper understanding of those events. He is narrating a story according to how things had happened exteriorly. This explains as well his absence throughout the play for the reason that he hides and observe everybody as if it is his main preoccupation. “for the first time in my life I had a chance to observe him(his father),” “It had fallen out of Aunt Kate’s prayer book and she snatched it from me before I could study it in detail.” Since the play echoes Michael’s memory as a “boy,” this answers the flatness of the plot. There is no climax in the play and it almost lacks colour and other ingredients that could make the story attractive. This parallels to the boy’s innocence which is a barrier that separates him from the interior side of the characters. There is nothing spectacular that happens in the play and all the events are stagnant. The childish memory shows us the slow and constant rhythm of their everyday life. We see how they’re engaged to simple things like making tea, knitting gloves, picking blackberries or feeding their pets. There is no apparent development of the characters. We just understand how they interact with one another but their inner selves are rarely revealed. The play appears just like an overview without an actual scenario. This lack of deep examination of the characters creates a frustration in the part of the readers or spectators. Frier does this in purpose by not giving the boy an access to the private thoughts of the characters so that as he narrates the story, he is obliged to assess the whole event in an adult’s point of view which leads to a more subjective and to a more analytical view of the characters.

There are also symbolism that Frier evokes in the play. Michael narrates this one particular moment because it is the final celebration of these women dancing before it changed forever. It was the moment of a new beginning for him as a boy for it was in this summer that he discovered events and felt something for the first time. In his speech, he uses words like, “first wireless,” “August was about to begin,” my Uncle Jack, came home from Africa for the first time,” “I recall my first shock at Jack’s appearance,” “I remember my first delight” and “for the first time of my life I had a chance to observe him (his father).” However, this particular moment represent as well the path leading to their fate – the disintegration one be one of the characters. In one part, the play ends with all the characters similar to their position in the beginning of the play. This “tableau” image signifies how Michael sees his family as he casts back his mind in that summer of 19

Some topics in this essay:
Brian Frier, Aunt Kate’s, Uncle Jack, Father Jack, Agnes Rose, Rose Agnes, Jack Jerry, Michael Michael, Jack Kate’s, Frier Michael, world women, particular moment, kate’s prayer book, story witnessed, events recollecting, assess events, women dancing, play michael’s, prayer book, life chance, life chance observe, “for life chance, narrator michael,