Ghanaian author Ama Ata Aidoo's 1964 play tells the story of the culture clashes that result when a young African man returns to his community with his university-educated African-American wife in tow. Initially, each side views the other naively: Eulalie spouts 60s black power dogma in her excitement to go "to the very source" in Africa, while Ato's relatives are horrified that he is sullying the family line with the descendent of slaves. These conflicts are played out with considerable wry humour, but things get more serious when Ato's mother (the powerful Yemi Adenuga) accuses the couple of second-guessing the gods by choosing to delay having children.
The African-Irish theatre company Arambe was clearly drawn to this text because of its resonances with present-day Ireland, in which rapid inward migration is bringing issues of ethnic and national identity to the fore. Great energy was generated on opening night by the differing reactions of African and Irish audience members to the play. The ambition of the project, however, with its 15-strong cast, appears to have pushed Arambe to the edge of its capabilities. Bisi Adigun's production suffers from a lack of a clear reading of the play and from apparent under-rehearsal.
Most problematically, the production underplays the text's feminism: Ato is framed as the central character, while Eulalie's journey from idealism to alcoholism and despair is not presented with much sympathy. The cutting of several characters lessens the sense of this as a matriarchal community, while audibility problems undermine the commentary provided by two local women standing outside the action. Pauses between, and within, scenes add 30 minutes to the running time.
This is a welcome introduction to an important play, but the production came out of the oven too quickly.
· Ends tonight. Box office: (353) 1 881 9613.
