The impact of tragedy on rural communities, how everyone forms their own truth around it, and how folklore and nature can provide solace in difficult times is all explored in a work-in-progress of a new play.

‘How is Everyone Doing?’ was written by Hannah Carberry, who lives in Clogga, just outside Mooncoin, on the Waterford/Kilkenny border.

She told Agriland: “I knew for certain that I wanted to write a play set in a small Irish town, within a tight-knit community.

“There’s a wealth of incredible stories in rural Ireland.”

‘How is Everyone Doing?’ was performed as a rehearsed reading as part of Waterford’s ‘Imagine’ arts festival with a cast of Shauna Farrell, Gerry Kane, Ryan Keogh, and Delia Lowery.

The new work-in-progress – which is an unfinished play presented to an audience to get feedback – explores the theme of loneliness and isolation in rural Ireland, using folklore as a vehicle for connection.

Rural life

Although she grew up in Waterford city, Hannah moved with her family in 2009 to Clegga just outside Mooncoin village in 2009.

“It’s a really interesting area with a lot of history,” she said.

“Our family home, for example, used to be a creamery many years ago. Just up the road from us is a building that used to be a linen mill, and there’s also the old blacksmith nearby.

“I’ve found having lived here quite a while that I’ve really connected with rural life. I love the sense of community here, how everyone knows everyone.

Hannah said that during Covid-19, she started going out for walks more often.

“I found myself really connecting with the natural landscapes, the little streams that trickle between trees, the sound of the birds overhead.

“It really was a form of therapy during that time, and it still is,” she said.

The recurring theme in her work is truth – how different every person’s truth is, and its influences on their words and behaviour.

Her last play ‘Grasp’ explored a toxic relationship between two young people.

“Each of them tells themselves a story to help them cope with the realities of that situation, even if that story isn’t helpful, or even harmful to them.

“For example, blaming themselves for the other person’s behaviour and wondering what they’ve done to ‘deserve’ this treatment,” Hannah explained.

Work-in-progress

‘How is Everyone Doing?’ explores this on an even larger scale.

“In it, young hurler Ciarán Crowley dies tragically under mysterious circumstances straight after winning the senior club championship,” she said.

“Each person in the local community tells themselves some version of the truth to help them cope with what’s happened.

“I have always loved stories. When I was little I used to write and illustrate my own ‘books’ and staple them together.

“What really caused me to fall in love with theatre was when I joined Waterford Youth Arts at the age of 15.”

She performed in a play ‘Happy End’ as part of the youth group’s summer production, and signed up for drama and creative writing workshops.

Hannah recalled: “My first play ‘Chips’ was about five minutes long, a two-hander comedy that took place in a chipper.

“Waterford Youth Arts presented it as part of their annual work-in-progress showing that year.

“I’ll never forget being backstage, listening to the audience laughing to all the jokes. It was the best feeling.

Years later, she wrote a few short plays for the drama society in college and small festivals, and completed an MA in playwriting and dramaturgy in NUI Galway in 2019.

Hannah now works at Waterford Youth Arts as a creative writing tutor and has done lots of workshops with schools and community.

“The Covid-19 pandemic had a particularly profound impact on rural communities,” she stated.

“My personal experience of it was pretty tough. I had just moved back home to Clogga after finishing up my masters in Galway when the first lockdown started.

“When something of that scale and impact happens, I think it’s quite common for people to tell themselves a story to cope with it. There was a big rise in people following conspiracy theories during Covid-19.

“I think a lot of that was down to people feeling isolated, lonely, just wanting an explanation for what was going on.”

She thinks of folk tales in a similar way.

“Years ago, when a family lost a child or if they had a relative with a mental illness or disability, they might say the fairies took them and replaced them with a changeling.

“It’s a way of explaining really tragic things that are impossible to truly understand,” she said.

Landscapes and stories

A huge fan of of the recently departed Manchán Magan, Hannah observed that his book, Listen to the Land Speak, discusses how the natural landscape of Ireland – rivers, mountains and fields – carry stories passed down through thousands of years.

She explained: “There’s one chapter that discusses how water served as a sort of gateway to the Otherworld, like when Oisín crosses the sea with Niamh to reach Tír na nÓg.

“In ‘How Is Everyone Doing?’, the stream running through the town is very central to the story.

“It’s where Ciarán is found after the match, and it’s associated with mythical figures such as the banshee, so that was a big point of inspiration to me,” Hannah noted.

Hannah plans to bring ‘How is everyone doing? to full production.

“I got fantastic feedback from the audience, so it definitely seems like a play people would want to see more of,” she said.

“I think it would be wonderful to tour it to rural towns in Waterford and Kilkenny, in parish halls and community centres.

‘I believe really strongly that all people can benefit from the arts.

“It’s quite tricky for people who live in the country to see live theatre as it’s often only shown in cities, unless they can drive or have someone who can give them a lift.

“I’d like to change that by giving them that live theatre on their doorstep.”

Rural life

Work-in-progress

Landscapes and stories

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Play

Work-in-progress probes impact of tragedy on rural communities