Luke Kelly’s ForWhat Died The Sons of Róisín? has long been a poignant rallying point for modern Irish people, a powerful and ambivalent meditation on the legacy of the past. In this moving new play, Aoibh Johnson examines what has become of The Daughters Of Róisín through the lens of the lived experience of her great-grandmother.
Written and performed by Johnson, this hard-hitting play explores the harrowing history of church and state-sanctioned abuse against pregnant women out of wedlock in Ireland over the last 100years. Moving,angry and fuelled with fiery activism, the one-woman show is a rallying cry for women everywhere to rise up, stand tall and eradicate Ireland’s ancient shame.
The play has toured widely across Ireland and the UK, including sell-out shows in London, Belfast and Dublin and its Australian debut at the Adelaide Fringe in 2019. It now comes to Edinburgh presented by Wee Yarn Productions in partnership with the Lyric Theatre, Belfast and The Pleasance Theatre Trust as part of the Edinburgh National Partnerships. Ahead of its Fringe debut, we caught up with Johnson to find out more.
Q&A with Aoibh Johnson
How does it feel to be making your debut at Edinburgh Fringe?
It feels absolutely incredible! As an independent company, it has always been a big dream of ours to join the thousands of artists that brave the festival each year and it really is magical to finally be here. Edinburgh is such a beautiful city and to be here presenting our work alongside an amazing community of creatives is a pinch-me moment.
What can you tell us about your show and its inspiration?
The Daughters of Róisín is inspired by the story of my great grandmother, who gave birth to my Granda AL in the early 1930s as an unmarried woman. For decades in Ireland, the church and state colluded to control, punish and abuse unmarried mothers. Women were sent to Magdalene Laundries, removed from society and forced to work in horrendous conditions. Babies were often taken from their mothers directly after birth and illegally sold or removed and brought to wealthy families willing to adopt.
The Daughters of Róisín depicts the story of an unmarried woman trapped in a room for the duration of her pregnancy. Like traditional feminist protest theatre, the narrative is non linear and the performance is quite surreal and unnerving.
Although the play is inspired by my grandmother and her story, it really did evolve into a protest piece that depicts the feelings, emotions and stories of every woman and family that was forced to endure this history. It has moments of deep sadness and anger, but also moments where you’ll laugh and see joy. Much like the powerhouse women that I interviewed when writing the work, the play finds light and hope in the dark.
How do you think audiences will react to the show?
Having performed the show across Ireland, London and Australia, we have found that audiences feel deeply moved, roused to take action and more connected to this social issue.
It’s natural for audience members to feel fervent anger and passion to advocate for change and I always hope they feel connected to a new Celtic revival of makers that are reshaping Irish creative expression. We’re a new generation of writers, poets, performers and artists that are unafraid to rock the romanticism of Ireland’s global identity. We’re proud of our island, but we’ll be even more proud if we can talk openly about our dark past.
How have you been preparing for the festival?
There has been a lot of rehearsing, production admin and spreading the word! We’d be lying if we said we weren’t simultaneously nervous and excited. This will be the biggest undertaking we have ever experienced as a company and we welcome that challenge but it has taken an awful lot of work to bring us here. We’ve all worked super hard to make the process as enjoyable and easy as possible and we definitely think that’s been paying off!
Will you get a chance to enjoy the rest of the festival?
The Daughters of Róisín will be performed at 1pm each day in the Pleasance Courtyard which means we’ll be right in the hub of the festival and should have lots of time to check out other work! We’re super eager to support our fellow NI and Irish artists and see as many of their shows as possible. Getting the opportunity to meet international artists and audiences is also a big priority for us as there’s so much we can learn from them. We really can’t wait.
The Daughters of Róisín is at Pleasance Courtyard from 31 July to 25 August 2024
