When Darragh Kelly speaks about the Rough Magic Theatre Company one can hear in his voice how blessed he feels not only to have been a founder member of this hugely popular and critically acclaimed group but also to have acted as part of their ensemble so often.

In fact, his latest role is as part of what Rough Magic itself describes as an ‘A-list ensemble’, including Pauline McLynn, Owen Roe and Barry McGovern, in a retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew which updates the tale to ‘70s Ireland and will feature live tangos, loose morals and gombeen chic.
As directed by Lynn Parker, with set and costume design by Monica Frawley, lighting design by Rupert Murray and original music by Cathal Synott, the show is bound to live up to the standards of excellence set by previous Rough Magic productions.
That standard of excellence, in itself, is part of what inspires Darragh “almost organically” from the moment he starts rehearsals.
“You tend not to even think of it until, as actually happened to me the other day in rehearsals, one of the younger members of the cast told me that Rough Magic, to them, was as inspiring as, say, Druid was to me when I started acting and that they were so excited about working with us on this,” he says.
“But I suppose it is like when you go into a Druid or Abbey production, and you suddenly become aware of the history, and the standards and the work ethic involved, often without even thinking about that consciously.”
He says he remains “absolutely delighted” to have been part of Rough Magic for so long and for “the consistency of work” it has provided him with.
One thing that’s great in particular about Rough Magic, he says, is that it always brings new actors on board, each uniquely inspiring.
All of which is particularly applicable when it comes to this production of The Taming of the Shrew. At the centre of the play are Petruchio and Katherina, a man and a woman – played respectively by Roe and McLynn whose professional partnership people may remember from Scrap Saturday – who capture to perfection the so-called war of the sexes.
But there is far more to the play than that and far more that Darragh, every day during rehearsals, realises “still applies” in relation to Ireland during the 1970s and, indeed, today.
“That is what is at the core of this play but it also looks at the broader society that informs this battle,” he explains. “There even is that driven, practical, very monetary approach to love and marriage and even the sense when women have that last moment of power, which is just before they get married and surrender to what is basically a man’s world. Or, at least, what was a man’s world. But then again, with somebody as independently-minded as Katarina, you suspect just may keep her independence at the end.”
She’ll keep her power base in bed, Darragh, which certainly is something that applied throughout history in Ireland!
“Absolutely, and that was a huge Irish tradition, wasn’t it? The withholding of sexual favours,” he says. “And the same is true, historically, of the way in which the Church behaved politically when it came to withholding its grace. So withholding and denying people is all a part of this negative power. It’s like passive/aggressive energy and it’s very real. Also Shakespeare’s language is so robust that you almost think, at times you are watching a Tom Murphy play. That’s the timelessness of Shakespeare and the universal quality of his work.
“But taking something like The Taming of the Shrew and applying it to modern Ireland really is bringing forth all these parallels. So much so that the actors themselves are coming up with great, hilarious anecdotes that relate to the tale we’re telling. That’s why I say working on something like this is great fun too and I’m sure that will come across to the audience.”