A Play in Two Acts
By John B. Keane     Directed By Maria Michaels

The Play

Sive is a tale of the harsh life of rural Ireland, masterfully woven by John B. Keane.

This powerful play recounts the unholy alliance formed between an unscrupulous matchmaker and a frustrated and bitter woman, who long ago gave up on her own dreams. Seeing a way out of her misery, the woman and the matchmaker scheme to marry the innocent young Sive , to a wealthy landowner twice Sive’s age. We watch as the hapless girl becomes a pawn in their game of deceit and greed. Forbidden to see her only love, and tormented by family obligations and the social mores of the day, Sive struggles with the heart-wrenching decision that will change their lives forever.
Set in the Ireland of the 1950s we also meet travelling tinkers,who rely on their wits to survive. Through song, these men of the road add another layer to the intensely moving drama that is Sive.

Sive is a must-see production for John B. Keane devotees, lovers of Irish literature and everyone who appreciates incomparable Irish theatre.

Sive was first performed by the Listowel Amateur Drama Group at Walsh’s Ballroomon 2nd February 1959. This edited version of Sive was first presented in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin on 13th June 1985.

The Cast