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Interview: Broken Croí/Heart Briste, a bilingual play at ABSOLUT FRINGE

What it’s called: Broken Croí/Heart Briste
Where it is: Filmbase, Temple Bar
When it is: 7pm every evening until Saturday, September 19
How long it is: 40 mins
How much it is: €16 or €13

I sat down with the cast – Manchán Mangan and Eva O Connor – after this play in Gaeilge and English to find out how it developed and how the run was going for them:

You can read my review and more about the play below.

What they say:

Manchán Magan is a disillusioned Gaeilge fanatic seeking revenge for the death of the language on his star pupil, a lonely 18 year old dancer. He offers the audience an opportunity to save her from her fate by answering some simple questions. This is an intimate piece of bilingual theatre, directed by Tom Creed, understandable even to Béarlóirí (yuck!). An Irish lesson goes badly wrong and too much is revealed. Is it in Irish? Can language be a weapon? Who the feic knows?

What I say:

Tuesday evening saw us in Filmbase for the 7pm show Broken Croí/Heart Briste, the dual language show that I was quite excited about seeing. Could a Fringe show be done through Irish? Not much to go on from the programme, but on starting, it became soon clear that we were in an Irish lesson given by someone who was very passionate about Gaeilge, how simplí it all was and how much we, na daoine, were going to enjoy it.

We started with an A,B,C – A for Anam, the soul. B for Bolg, the stomach or gut. C for Cailleach, the Crone or Wise Woman. D for doras, E for éist and then we went into F for fulladóireacht, for foireachas and for the sheer frustration of our Irish muinteoir bringing us though some impossibly difficult Irish until he brought his pupil to the stage. What evolved was an intelligent though harrowing piece of drama where the conversation went from ag foghlaim gaeilge (learning Irish) to the foul language of youth, to finding out about your family and yourself and the intricacises and common factors of the Irish language, how simple and difficult all at once that it is.

While the girls I was with didn’t particularly love the show – Steph’s review is here – I really enjoyed the play on words, how the actors – Manchán Mangan and Eva O Connor – interacted and used the language to tell the story. I learned a lot about Irish, I learned a number of Irish phrases I didn’t know and I felt for the characters – something that can be quite difficult in such a hostile, artificial environment. I’d recommend the plkay to those who want to be challenged, who love what language can do and who have a ghrá for Gaeilge. Ros na Rún this is not.