On Ravens Watch

Last Sunday, It was with great anticipation that my boyfriend and I found ourselves out in Dunhill ready to see a play. There has been great excitement about Rigout Production's 'Raven's Watch' which was set on the Anne Valley walkway and we the audience would walk from scene to scene. Rigout Productions are a local collective of writers, directors, musicians, actors and artists creating original works of theatre and musical performance. Last year was my first time seeing a performance of theirs. I had the great pleasure of seeing Lackendarra Jim as part of the Comeragh's Wild Festival. While the play itself was fantastically put together, what made the experience so special was that it took place up high in the Comeragh Mountains and we hiked to the top to see the performance and down after it by torch light. The play itself was based on the true story of a man who have lived for several years in almost the exact spot that we sat watching his story unfold and it added a whole extra dimension to the story. So when I heard that this years performance was to be set in Dunhill Castle and along the Anne Valley Walkway then I knew we were in for something special. 

When we arrived in Dunhill we joined a cluster of people gathered outside Harneys pub and shortly after climbed aboard a bus that took us along the road to Dunhill Castle. We made our way to the Castle, unsure what to expect but mostly just hoping we would have clear skies for the duration. When the play begins we meet the Raven. He is not a central character, more our guide and narrator. He sets the scene and then we are introduced to this young band of Rebels who are swearing their allegiance to their leader and their cause. From what I gather the story is set in Ireland while England still remains in power, My Irish history at this stage is fuzzy at best so I only know it puts it sometime in 1800/1900's. Anyway lets move past that. 

These young rebels stood on the hillside and showed varying  amounts of enthusiasm for their cause and as they moved past us singing, I was already intrigued. We walked a short while only to encounter the Raven again and this time he was telling us another story about the Faery folk and a young boy who was taken in by them who had since grown up into a not particularly nice young man with a particular disregard for those around him. As the Raven fills us in he finds himself surrounded by Faery folk who are annoyed by his interference and reluctantly fill us (the audience) in on what Tomas (the man in question) has done to invoke the ire of the Faeries. The story continues on like this and as we move along we move between one story and the next. On our journey down the walkway we begin to see those brave rebels being executed for supposedly killing a man and while they each confess to a variety of crimes, this is one they all deny but hang for it anyway. And we see more of the Faeries and meet their queen, we get an introduction to Tomas at last. I found him to be deserving of their scorn and at the same time I found myself thinking that I could not imagine a more perfect setting for this play. We walked right through the woods that are dotted with fairy doors and there's an almost magical feel to it. About half way through the walk and play, it starts to get darker. I can only imagine the amount of work that went into this production on every level down to the selection where on the walkway to perform each scene and which ones would work better in half darkness or torchlight. There's a scene where Tomas meets the Faery queen again and is told his punishment for the deeds he has committed is to carry a corpse on his back until he reaches a final resting place for both of them. At this stage I found myself casting my eyes around to see where this new introduction to the cast would come from as we were in the middle of this walk and there weren't any discernible hiding places and suddenly what looked like a pile of leaves on the ground starts to move and the corpse wriggles her way out of plastic bag while we all gasp in shock. I imagine had it been a lot brighter out that it would not have worked quite as well but as it stood , I was impressed. The Raven accompanies Tomas on his journey or at least stays at a distance but watching while he pleads with the Faery queen to show some mercy. Tomas begins repent for his past actions and becomes a better man on this journey. The Queen finds it in her heart to forgive him but he has fallen in love with the corpse and they are buried together. The end of the story brought us to the Dunhill Faery ring and we watched the rest of it unfold under the spotlights.

It turned out to be everything I had imagined and more. It was a truly magical performance on every level. I loved that we the audience got to move from scene to scene and that we were walking along the Anne Valley Walkway in the dark with only torchlight and stars to guide us. Especially as I would be much too scared to do a walk like that in the dark without the safety in numbers and not just because of all the bats and midges we encountered on our way. The setting was perfect and it really brought the story to life, in a way that makes plays set indoors seem a bit boring in comparison. I was absolutely blown away by the talent of the performers and not being new to the arts scene I did see plenty of familiar faces as well as those I hadn't encountered before. I look forward to seeing Rigout Productions next performance. No pressure guys but I am expecting great things.