Westport Town Hall Theatre to stage Gumilyov’s ‘Gondla’
Budding young professional actor Cillian Browne is to play the lead in an exciting revival of famous Russian poet Nikolay Gumilyov’s ‘Gondla’. The play was written in 1916 and first staged in 1920, the year before Gumilyov’s execution by the Cheka, the secret Soviet police force. After slipping away from the public consciousness, ‘Gondla’ was recently translated by Philip McDonagh, and will now be staged in Westport Town Hall Theatre this Sunday, August 14, at 8pm, marking the world premiere of the resurrected production.
Cillian, well known in Westport as a former pupil of Rice College and member of St Patrick’s Drama Group, is currently studying for a BA in Drama, Theatre and Performance in University College Galway.
‘Gondla’, translated by Philip McDonagh, is an epic tale of strife, poetry and revenge set in ninth-century Iceland. The titular character, Gondla, an Irishman, is to be married to the Icelandic King’s foster child in order to unite the two kingdoms. However, jealousy rears its ugly head within the king’s circle of royals, and a pack of malicious ‘wolves’ sets out to bring Gondla down.
Yeats influence
In terms of style, the main influence on ‘Gondla’ is WB Yeats. Like much of Yeats’s drama, ‘Gondla’ is written in verse. The action takes place in a legendary pre-history. The staging is relatively simple. The plot moves rapidly; in places, movement is more important than nuances of character and psychology. Above all, an ancient story carries a contemporary meaning. ‘Gondla’ is an allegory about the state of Europe in the 20th century.
Gondla, played by Browne, is based on Connla of the Golden Hair in the legend re-told by Lady Gregory. Gondla, like the ‘file’ of ancient Irish society, is both prophet and poet. The wolves are entranced by his music, and yet they are looking for an opportunity to kill him. At a certain point Gondla must choose between escape and self-sacrifice.
Directed by Luke Morgan, featuring a live score and an ensemble cast of ten characters headed up by Browne, this production of ‘Gondla’ is the first since it was staged in Russia in the 1920s.
The play’s translator, Philip McDonagh, was educated at Jesuit schools in Copenhagen and Dublin, and at Balliol College, Oxford. As a diplomat, he helped develop the Northern Ireland peace process during a five-year spell in London and has served as Ireland’s ambassador in India, the Holy See, Finland, Russia, and (currently) the OSCE in Vienna. He has published four collections of poetry, Carraroe in Saxony (Dedalus, 2003); Memories of an Ionian Diplomat (Ravi Dayal, New Delhi, 2004); The Song The Oriole Sang (Dedalus, 2010); and a Russian translation of ‘The Song The Oriole Sang’ (Rudomino, Moscow, 2011).
The fact that McDonagh’s translation is having its world premiere in Westport is very exciting for the play’s lead actor, and for his family, friends and co-members in St Patrick’s Drama Group – a group that is proud to have had Cillian perform in its 2014 production of ‘The Field’ by JB Keane, which was directed by Cillian’s mother, Liz Browne.
To book tickets (€15/€12), visit www.westporttheatre.com or call the theatre box office on 098 28459.
