Longford audiences rejoice at staging of High Drama From a Low and Quiet Sea

You describe the play, comment on the acting, address design and such, finishing by imparting an opinion on whether it was good or bad. That's an over simplification, but it's the general gist of the nuts and bolts of it.

Sometimes plays are so good that applying the formula is a disservice. From a Low and Quiet Sea, the adaptation of Donal Ryan’s acclaimed, Booker Prize-nominated novel, is a case in point.

It's almost a case of starting with what's not there. What's not there in this play is part of what makes it so good. Ryan's book is short, but dense. Its brevity is part of what makes it so amenable to a theatrical adaptation.

What's not there, in this instance, is about paring the piece down to the very bone. By stripping the work to elemental parts it becomes about drama and performance. It's a distilled drama, it's essential acting.

The sound design was incredibly sparse. Its subtlety added to its effectiveness. The merest audio cue had a visceral effect, a gut punch with a feather, implying discomfort rather than pain.

Set and light design were equally scant.

The quality of the acting made this possible.

From a Low and Quiet Sea was a show that made the audience members feel privileged to have witnessed.