Liola

A LIGHT COMEDY ABOUT A LOVEABLE ROGUE

Based on the Italian play by Nobel prize-winning writer Luigi Pirandello, Richard Eyre's production of Liola retains the setting of a rural Sicilian village in 1916. The cast however, is Irish. This feature, combined with upbeat gypsy music performed by an onstage band and lively dancing, maintains the rustic charm of the original with an unexpected twist.

The folksy nature of the story is reflected in the production's broad acting-style and use of direct audience-address, bringing to mind the farcical style of Aphra Behn. Underneath Liola's humor and exuberant performances lies a subtler play about reality and appearance.

WHAT IS LIOLA ABOUT?

Liola, the play's titular character, is a charming and scandalously fecund free spirit, having already fathered three children by different mothers at the play's outset. This is much to the chagrin of Simone, an elderly landowner who, although married to a much younger wife named Mita, remains childless and without an heir. Lo and behold, Liola impregnates yet another young woman of the village named Tuzza. Tuzza and her mother conspire to claim that Simone is the father - in this way they are guaranteed a comfortable life and Simone an heir.

In their small, pastoral community in which there is no such thing as privacy, the true parentage of the child is common knowledge, but even so Simone is happy to live the lie for the sake of appearances. He also dictates that Mita must continue to live with him, placing her in an unenviable position. But Liola, who has long-loved the scorned Mita, has other ideas...