Abbey Theatre - Amharclann na Mainistreach

So after taking the time to express my feeling about Ballymumbler I got a message that says only 1000 characters are allowed! Probably too much effort to mention that at an earlier point? So I conclude that this little system needs a lot of work ... just like that infernally awful play that I had to sit through the other night. Who do I see for a refund ? A realy big BOO to the Abbey for allowing this nonsense !

This was one of my worst theatre nights. Five of us went and we all thought it tedious (how long did Andrew ramble on for before he mentioned the shooting?) and unreal (the local GP treating a shotgun injury to the abdomen; no hospital!). The dialogue and language were anything but lyrical! The opening fifteen minutes promised much but the rest was inexorably boring. Most of the people I heard talking about it outside afterwards seemed to feel likewise. In my opinion and that of my guests if an anonymous writer sent in this play it would not be published let alone produced. Sorry!

Hi,
Went to see the play on saturday night last and found it to be utterly disappointing. The storyline is nothing new and I felt it to be dull and tedious.
Considering the price of the tickets no enjoyment and not good value for money.Not a very uplifting experience for me.

My husband and I travelled from Galway in high anticipation of Tales of Ballycumber having respectively enjoyed A Long Long Way and The Secret Scripture.  The play, if nothing else, generated much discussion… I loved it albeit without fully grasping some of what was going on, Him Indoors found it slow-moving and overly lyrical ("it’s just not how people talk") - however I found the lyricism contrasted nicely with the use of local Wickla’ dialect, “chaps” for kids, and so on.  The examinations of the various parent-child relationships were the most interesting aspect of the play to me, the set was impactful, and the acting assured and moving.

Overall, it was good evening’s entertainment and stimulated much conversation, although I did come away with a couple of blanks over some aspects of the play.

My reaction to ‘Tales of Ballycumber’ was akin to not really understanding a poem but nevertheless admiring the language, imagery, authentic rustic references, etc. The storyline here was largely incomprehensible; and the unrelenting intensity and slow pace of the piece became tedious. The acting was of a high standard, with beautiful performances from Liam Carney (Andrew) and Aaron Monaghan (Evans). For all its efforts, this seemed more a worthwhile intellectual thesis than a play. Or, to put it another way: as written and constructed, it was misplaced on the stage.

Finally, as a much-looked-forward-to evening at the theatre, it was bad value for good money: we found ourselves out on the street after only 90 minutes!

Travelled up to Dublin to see play last night, I love Stephen Rea as an actor, again he did not let me down. Having lost my brother to suicide 18 years ago the story line was very real, the pain, hurt, anguish, the why, “what did you say to him?....”
This is real Ireland in 2009, and nothing has changed, and there are places like Ballycumber where time has stood still.
The acting at times I thought too slow, the pauses too deliberate, sometimes awkward, and this for me prevented the scenes from flowing...overall realistic and enjoyable.

The central story of the play was poignant and touching. Barry’s language is rich and eloquent but unfortunately when it came to dialogue between the actors became clunky and stilted and didn’t resemble normal day to day conversation. I thought the set design was very imaginative and lent itself well to the background of the story.

Agree with Frank Kelleher above.

As with any writing of Sebastian Barry, the dialogue was beautiful, however the manner in which it was delievered by the cast leaves quite a bit to be desired.
I found the play uninspiring, and only in the last Act was anything resembling emotion evident.
All in all very disappointing.

I saw the play this week with family members of 6 adults, we were all fascinated in different ways about the story, we talked for hours afterwards (over a pint mind)about the play and real life situations.

Very enjoyable, the acting was natural and the storyline intense, thought provoking and the set was realistic. Overall a very good show.

Did I miss something with this play?

The dialogue was unrealistic, overly writerly, and not at all how people genuinely talk, the pacing poor and I could not make head nor tail of the central story, and what we are supposed to realise at the end.

Very very disappointing.

The set design was excellent, though.