Two contrasting plays, one a comedy, the other a tragedy, one written in 2016, the other first performed in 1904. Both have a strong woman at their centre, and both women have an obsession.

In The Green, Cornelia (Ruth Wheeler) is obsessed with the large lawn in the front of her house. She wants it to be perfect, so that she can win the prize in the Tidiest Town Competition. But everything stands in her way. Her husband, her neighbours and, even worse, the Travellers (no longer allowed to be called Tinkers). She’s convinced the latter are intending to invade the town and park on her grass.

There’s humour in the play, but somehow things come across as a bit too earnest, and the audience doesn’t provide the laughs needed. This is a pity, because the cast is good – and, importantly, handle the Irish accents well.

Sandy Cleary, Richard Huber and Emmett Hardie play the remaining roles, with a short appearance by Elsa May as the woman who’s won the coveted prize for the last ten years.

The production of Riders to the Sea captures the play’s unusual quality beautifully. The cast handle the poetic dialogue well, allowing the phrases to linger and sing. They’re also confident with letting silence have its place.

Terry McTavish plays Maurya, an old woman who’s lost her husband and her husband’s father as well as five sons. The sixth son (Reuben Hilder) makes a brief but strong appearance in the play before departing for a boat. His mother is grieving so strongly for her favourite, Michael, who has recently gone missing at sea, that she’s unable to offer her last son a blessing.

The two daughters, beautifully played by Rosie Dunn and Orla Dick, provide the backbone of the play. They’re grieving too, but they remain resolute and hopeful in the face of their mother’s obsessive despair.

This is a deeply moving production, though it’s difficult to empathise completely with the fatalistic aspects of Maurya’s character.

Between the two plays Kathryn Olcott’s Irish Beat Dancers perform several dances with great energy.

I am a bit puzzled by the music provided prior to Riders to the Sea. Its jauntiness, which suits the comedy, is very much out of sync with the tone of the tragedy.

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