What an emotional experience to see Under the Hawthorn Tree staged by Northern Ireland’s wonderful theatre company, Cahoots, in the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh. I was so excited, as I had been very impressed when I attended the rehearsals in Belfast.
An amazing cast brought the story of Eily, Michael and Peggy to life. Music, song and the haunting Uileann pipes all added to the drama of one family’s fight to survive during Ireland’s Great Famine. The play was adapted by Charles Way and directed by Paul Bosco McEneaney.
The Ulster American Folk Park is a great place to stage it, as I as visited it to research my books. The Park now holds Hawthorn Days in the spring.
The play opened on Tuesday 21st June and will run there until 1st July. There are two shows a day and tickets must be booked with the Ulster American Folk Park.
Marita Conlon-McKenna 