On demand from the Mick Lally Theatre, Galway
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Who is the best person to tell the important story of a famous chronicler? The discovery of Druidâs streamed play Boland: Journey of a Poet is that sometimes the most qualified is the recorder themselves.
That the late Eavan Boland created a vision of broken silence and alternative myths, positioning womenâs lives as meaningful subjects in art, makes her poems count as radical acts of documentation. Itâs fitting that she would leave blueprints behind for a major telling of her own story.
Through script editor Colm TóibÃnâs researched assemblage of Bolandâs nonfiction essays and poems, all filled with riveting introspection, this seems as near-perfect a biographical play as we could get. If representation was important for the poet, the possibility that recognising something within an artwork could ignite a chain reaction, then director Garry Hynesâs production begins with a nice touch. Our first sight is a new portrait of Boland painted live by the artist Debbie Chapman, a creation depicting someone who understood the power of such.