Larkin, the musical opens in Liberty Hall

Friday September 06, 2002 21:48

by Nora Geraghty - personal capacity

A review of the ground-breaking musical currently running in the new Liberty Hall cultural centre.

Larkin, the musical opened on Thursday night in the new Liberty Hall cultural centre. It seems appropriate that such an endeavour should be staged at the new centre. Every Irish schoolchild knows the story of big Jim Larkin, and how he founded the Transport Union and lead the workers to victory, teaching them to respect themselves and use the power of their unity to demand decent working conditions and wages.

This is the first time to my knowledge, however, that anyone has attempted to use the genre of the musical to tell the story of the man, the events that shaped his life, and his marriage to Elizabeth Browne. The musical was written by Brian Gallagher and Shawn Purcell, and directed and produced by Brian Merriman.

The opening scene is somewhat disconcerting, a dockside in Uruguay, an Evita style song and dance scene with the young Jim Larkin appearing and addressing the crowd with a thick Scouse accent. If you’re used to seeing the great man as a metal giant on O’Connell street, with arms raised to heaven and mouth wide open in appeal to workers to stand up for their rights, it can be a shocking reminder that he was once a 17-year-old boy who stowed away on a ship to Uruguay, returning a year later to become a dock worker in Liverpool.

But it doesn’t take long to become immersed in the story. The performance is delivered with energy and talent by the young cast, and there are a few truly memorable songs. The overall message seems to be “we will do what must be done, no matter what the cost” an important message that carries its theme to activists of the present time. The sets are sparse and few props are used, instead much use is made of lighting and positioning, and actors not central to a scene are often used silently in the background to imply crowds or bystanders before suddenly leaping into the next dance sequence. The whole play is a masterpiece of choreography.

Since 1912 Liberty Hall has been the home of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, and it has played a central role in the shaping of Irish trade unions, but it was also a cultural centre in the early days, a fact that been all but forgotten. The Irish Workers Dramatic Club made its debut in the Liberty Hall Theatre on St. Stephen’s night 1912 with four one-act plays. And the refurbishment of the theatre in February of 1916 was hailed by James Connolly as “Next to the revolution, the greatest event of 1916”.

Carrying forward the tradition of fighting for roses as well as for bread is undoubtedly an important function of such a cultural centre. This new musical is rather unusual, not at all the kind of thing most people would associate with the early years of the Transport union, but for artistic endeavour and creative vision, I’m sure Jim Larkin would have approved. Well worth a visit.

The musical runs until 21st September.
Tickets are E20, concessions can be arranged for groups or special circumstances.
for booking, phone (01) 4953179.

Upcoming Events

New Events

Other Press

User Preferences

Feeds

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

The Saker

Lockdown Skeptics

Voltaire Network

Larkin, the musical opens in Liberty Hall