Theatre: A timely return on Somme's centenary

* Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Abbey Theatre, Dublin, until September 24 * Inishfallen Fare Thee Well, New Theatre, Dublin, until August 20

From left, Marcus Lamb, Iarla McGowan and Paul Kennedy in Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme by Frank McGuinness. Photo: Johan Persson.

Emer O'Kelly

It is more than 30 years since Frank McGuinness confronted his countrymen and women with a broken monolith: he shattered it into fragments of heartbreak, tragedy, and compassion as he presented the Sons of Ulster to us, the men who climbed from their dugouts into the slaughter of the Somme while wearing their Orange sashes as badges of brotherhood.

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme was first produced by the Abbey on the Peacock stage in 1985, and gave humanity to a body of men dismissed until then, south of the border, with a contempt approaching hatred. It was heralded as close to a masterpiece by theatre lovers, but the political classes reserved judgement. We still had a long way to go.