Letterkenny Music and Drama Group's Consent is coming to An Grianan

Why is Justice blind? Is she impartial? Or is she blinkered?

Letterkenny Music and Drama Group will take to the stage of An Grianan Theatre again on Friday, February 21 and Saturday, February 22 to present their latest play Consent by Nina Raine.

This comes following the group winning first prize at the ACDI/DLI All-Ireland One Act Drama Festival finals in December with the play Cider Park” by Kieran Kelly.

The story is set when friends Edward and Tim take opposing briefs in a sexual assault case. The key witness is a woman whose life seems a world away from theirs. At home, their own lives begin to unravel as every version of the truth is challenged. Nina Raine’s powerful, painful, funny play shifts the evidence from every side and puts Justice herself in the dock. The play is quite provocative, it is challenging, but it is hugely entertaining.

While it is a legal drama, it is not set within the courts, but rather in the home lives of the criminal barristers involved in the case. These people are very smart, very articulate and very much know how to argue a case, but these discussions surrounding the case reveal varying interpersonal relationships; nobody is a saint in this play. As a result, there is a lot of caustic wit in the room.

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Directed by Mary Lane, and featuring a stellar local cast including Laura Gleeson as Kitty, Sean Donegan as her husband Edward, LMDG stalwart Elaine Gillespie as Rachel, with her husband Jake played by John O’Donnell. Acting powerhouse Geraldine Galligan joins them onstage as Gayle, the complainant in the assault case in which the prosecuting barrister Tim is played by Darren Winston. Orla Carlin and Rachel Akkoç complete the line up, playing Kitty’s friend Zara, and Laura, a solicitor, respectively.

Speaking of her choice to stage “Consent”, Mary Lane comments that “consent is such a broad and far-reaching word as it hits so many different areas of our lives, and it is a very important issue right now. It is a privilege to bring these issues to the stage and to watch how things can play out in the judicial system, and possibly most importantly what can go on behind closed doors and what can influence proceedings”.

The LMDG is so aware that the issue of consent couldn’t be more topical at the moment. And while it is always great to use the medium of drama to bring these themes to light, the group has reached out to local support services who will have information and support available at the performances.

To book your tickets, contact the An Grianan Theatre box office on (074)9120777, or visit the website.