Keane edge is still sharp with John B's ’Sive’

The Abbey’s touring production of Sive underlines its timeless themes of greed and lust, says Colette Sheridan.

ALTHOUGH written in oppressive 1950s Ireland, John B Keane’s Sive – the play that heralded an exciting new voice in Irish theatre – still ha s resonance, says Conall Morrison, director of the Abbey’s touring production of the riveting drama.

Morrison says that while it has its own historical specificity, the play is about the timeless themes of greed and lust and of conflict within a family and the abuse of power. “As John B Keane so often did with plays like The Field and Big Maggie, he succeeded in putting his finger on the dark underbelly of Irish society,” says Morrison.