An Enemy of the People
by Martin Lynch
Martin Lynch - An Enemy of the People
BBC Radio 3: Drama on 3
Broadcast: Sunday 15th October 2006 @ 8:40 p.m.
Northern Irish playwright Martin Lynch reinterprets Ibsen's 1882 drama of the same name in his new play set in
contemporary Belfast.
Ibsen's play is essentially about what happens when one man challenges the perceived consensus of his community, and the ensuing
fear that surrounds him and his family.
Lynch believes the issues described by Ibsen resemble the ones that need to be resolved now in post-ceasefire Northern Ireland,
where those who have been critical of particular incidents have invited wrath from others fearful that their own identities are threatened
by such dissent.
In Lynch's fictional story, a mother is forced to stand up for justice when her brother-in-law is savagely killed. At first, it seems to be
another sectarian murder but when clues point more to her own community, Moya McGovern's struggle is only beginning. She is determined to get justice, but at what cost?
With Susan Lynch [Moya McGovern], Seainin Brennan [Caroline McGovern, Moya's Daughter], Charles Lawson [Sean Gillen, Moya's
Brother], Harry Towb [Mr. Gillen, Moya's Father / The Solicitor], Patrick O'Kane [Dominic / Frankie], Lloyd Hutchinson [Manus], and
Eileen Pollock [Mrs McGovern].
Other parts were played by members of the cast.
Directed by Roland Jaquarello for BBC Northern Ireland.
Re-broadcast on Sunday 9th March 2008 @ 8:00 p.m.
90 min.
Jim
