Mary Lavin's 'In the Middle of the Fields' for Bective Mill
Powerful story of young widow running a farm
A ground-breaking production of 'In The Middle of The Fields' by Mary Lavin, brought to life by acclaimed director Joan Sheehy and a talented, award-winning creative team, will be staged at Bective this summer.
In July and August, director Joan Sheehy, in association with Geoff Gould of Blood in the Alley Theatre Company, will be on tour as part of the West Cork Fit Up Festival from 11th to 15th July, to Dublin’s Richmond Barracks from 18th to 29th July, and finally to Bective Mills close to Mary Lavin’s own home place, Bective Mills, from 1st to 5th August.
Starring Kathy Rose O’Brien, Mark O’Regan and Seamus Moran, director Sheehy will be joined by a creative team of Paul Keogan, lighting and set, Colin Dunne, movement direction, with original music by composer Tom Lane, performed by virtuoso accordionist, Dermot Dunne.
Joan Sheehy says: Mary Lavin's 'In The Middle of The Fields' is a powerful story, and in 2021 I created a dramatic re-imagining of the story under a large, stretchy tent so that performers and audience experienced a unique, atmospheric, encounter literally in the middle of a field.
“I wanted to stay true to Lavin's writing so we present the story word for word in an innovative staging with live music. I am delighted to be bringing this production to fresh audiences in West Cork, Dublin, and Bective. I am a country woman from Limerick and this evocative rural story has haunted me for years.
“Making this great text come alive in front of an audience gives me such creative satisfaction. It takes many elements to work together to tell a story simply. I am so happy we have achieved that in this exquisite production.”
Audiences can expect a unique atmospheric experience that harks back to the theatre fit-up tradition of the 1940s and 1950s, but with a vivid, contemporary staging.
The evocative story centres around a young widow who displays a strong, independent spirit in running her farm. An encounter one night with a neighbouring farmer becomes emotionally charged and unsettling, posing provocative questions about past passions in a shifting and surprising story that will leave you captivated.
Writer and granddaughter of Mary Lavin, Kathleen McMahon, says: “I’d like to add my voice, and that of the Mary Lavin Estate, to Joan Sheehy’s efforts to bring her extraordinary production of Mary Lavin’s story In the Middle of the Fields to a wider audience this summer.
"I saw the production in Kilmallock, County Limerick in 2021 and thought it was absolutely stunning. What Joan managed to do was convey the relevance and modernity of the story, something I’m struck by every time I read it. This is not a period piece, but a timeless encounter that has huge resonance in the light of the Me Too movement. The outdoor staging of this production is what makes it really special. It’s a story that lives and breathes its surroundings. To see it performed, literally, in the middle of the fields was magical. It will be just amazing to see it travel to County Meath, where Mary Lavin lived and wrote, and where the story is set.”
“I want the audience to have an adventure” says Sheehy. “An atmospheric and dramatic encounter in magical surroundings. And I want them to enjoy the power of a great, rural story.”