The Clearing
By Helen Edmundson
About the Show
by Helen Edmundson, directed by Patricia Melluish. The Clearing takes us to the seventeenth century. The Irish people are being forcibly moved off their land as a result of Cromwell’s desire to drive the native Irish from their homes in order to give their lands and property to soldiers and businessmen who had supported him during the English Civil War. For generations the English perceived the Irish as 'sub human' and so thought very little of forcing families to leave their homes and start a new life in a part of Ireland, Connaught, that was little more than a desert at the time. Connaught had no law and order or infrastructure and thousands of those sent there died from famine and disease. Against this backdrop of persecution unfolds an enthralling tale of the effect Cromwell’s orders have on the lives of the regular people, both English and Irish, trying to continue their everyday lives in the face of political upheaval, prejudice and fanaticism. The play follows Robert and Madeleine – a blissfully happy English-Irish couple – and how their small, contented world is turned upside down and how they cope with the circumstances they find themselves in. While the subject matter is serious the play is not downbeat – it is an exploration of how different people act in situations that challenge the very foundations of their world and how some people will be crushed and others will find their wings.
