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AST Press proudly presents this unique Civil War memoir ... E-mail us for more info. Lincoln Center has brought to Manhattan the drama "Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme," by Donegal-born writer Frank McGuinness. The play, focusing on eight men serving in the 36th (Ulster) Division of the British army during World War I, "pulls no punches as it gives full and raucous voice to the bigotry of young Protestant Ulstermen" in the ranks, says WGT reviewer David Tereshchuk. With war again looming, McGuinness' exploration of men facing battle gives some pause. 'Observe the Sons of Ulster' Pulls No Punches World War 1 drama at Lincoln Center explores 'raucous' voice of bigotry By David Tereshchuk Special to The Wild Geese Today NEW YORK (WGT) -- With some poignant timing just when the United Kingdom, as well as the United States, has again sent thousands of troops abroad, many of them Irish, Frank McGuinness' play "Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme" is getting a new lease of determinedly questioning life. With something surely more than sheer coincidence, theaters in both Belfast and New York are currently presenting this mournful ode, written in 1985 to the sacrifice of Northern Irishmen who served "King and Country" in World War 1. New York's version, produced by Lincoln Center Theater, opened Feb. 24 in Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse Theater, after a previous run in Boston. The drama, under Nicholas Martin's direction, pulls no punches as it gives full and raucous voice to the bigotry of young Protestant Ulstermen. In 1916, and repeatedly since, such men have been encouraged to see their Roman Catholic compatriots and their foreign enemies (here the Germans in their opposing trenches) in pretty much the same light. AT A GLANCE "Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme" by Frank McGuinness Directed by: Nicholas Martin At the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater 150 West 65th St. New York NY 10023 February 6 to April 13 Playing Schedule: Tues-Sat at 8, Wed & Sat at 2, Sun at 3 Tickets: All seats $60 Sets: Alexander Dodge Costumes : Michael Krass Lighting : Donald Holder Sound : Jerry Yager Original Music: Shaun Davey Cast: Richard Easton, Dashiell Eaves, Christopher Fitzgerald, David Barry Gray, Jason Butler Harner, Rod McLachlan, Jeremy Shamos, Justin Theroux, Scott Wolf. For info: www.lct.org The discomfiting authenticity of their invective against "filthy taigs" is all the more remarkable as it comes from the pen of a Catholic writer. (McGuinness was born and bred in Buncrana, Donegal, just by the border that has plagued Ireland ever since it was drawn soon after the First World War). One character, a Belfast shipyard worker played with convincing brutishness by Rod MacLachlan, goes so far as to proclaim that "the enemy is not the Hun, but the Fenians and an Irish republic!" during a self-conscious -- and drunken -- imitation of paramilitary leader Sir Edward Carson's speeches of the time. But the play's business is more than bigotry. Eight young men, of varying degrees of commitment to the fight, and most of them deadly afraid of dying, whatever cockiness they may show early on, get to know each other, and themselves, under the cloud of their impending death in the trenches. There is little doubt about the outcome. The action is prefaced with a speech by the group's leader -- though that position is not always a clear one -- recalling from the vantage point of old age in 1969 the loss of his comrades half a century before. And ahead of their appearance in the main body of the play as frisky volunteers from civilian life, we see them as young ghosts. They stand in elegiac silhouette on the ramparts of scenery that will later cleverly serve, among other things, as both an Irish cliff-top and a trench wall in northern France. One character, a Belfast shipyard worker ... goes so far as to proclaim that "the enemy is not the Hun, but the Fenians and an Irish republic!" American audiences all too often get a raw deal with Irish drama, and rarely more so than in the accents they are served. What is supposed to be the Ulster twang varies wildly in this group, and at times goes badly wrong with almost everyone. Both McLachlan and David Barry Gray -- as a fellow East Belfaster -- sound creditable, but they are the exceptions. As the sole survivor when young, Justin Theroux (despite all the aptness for the part that his well-toned torso gives him) is let down by his vowels. An upper-crust Ulsterman may often sound like a casual English 'milord,' but surely not like Dick Van Dyke's chimney-sweep in "Mary Poppins." But that matters little by the time a climax is reached and Theroux's character takes to prayer -- and significantly -- to leadership in prayer. With much help from Protestantism's powerful liturgy, his heartfelt call upon God to "observe the sons ..." carries the whole house. Photo by Carol Rosegg Christopher Fitzgerald, standing, and Jeremy Shamos in "Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme." The poetry that McGuinness draws from his characters is often bold, but never too complicated. A scene with a cloth weaver/dyer working through his fear with the help of a miller/baker has striking imagery involving the smell of bread as an expression of life - and, as often in "Ulster," the smell of death is close, too. The scene somehow manages to let the poetry work, even though cast members Dashiell Eaves and Scott Wolf appear to believe that simply yelling louder will convince us of what they feel. The venerable Douglas Easton repeats his efforts as "the older self" of a young character, which he accomplished with such rare grace and power in Tom Stoppard's "The Invention of Love" on Broadway. Here though, it is harder for him. The play's opening needs more, to make us feel that Easton's character has earned our sympathetic attention during his angry diatribe against a God who can preside over such losses. The 36th Ulster Division lost more than 5,000 men that day, suffering an appalling casualty rate of over 77 percent, and the battle's date (July 1st) is still, unsurprisingly, marked as a day of mourning in Northern Ireland. Just to drive around the North today and take in each town or village's war memorial is to get a sense of the devastating impact that the so-called "War to End Wars" inflicted on Ulster society. To visit Lincoln Center and join in this meditation on meaningless slaughter is to ponder what fresh impact -- on all of us - that the coming 21st century war may yet inflict. Reviewer and WGT Contributing Editor David Tereshchuk is a former producer for ABC and CBS News and media consultant for the United Nations. He reported from Derry and Belfast for years for United Kingdom-based ITV, and testified about what he saw during the "Bloody Sunday" march for the ongoing Saville Commission. David previously reviewed the films "Bloody Sunday" and "Sunday" for WGT. RELATED INFORMATION Read more about the 36th (Ulster) Division at The Battle of the Somme, from The Royal Irish Rangers Website. Read about the 36th (Ulster) Division, from The British Army in the Great War Website. Buy a hat, shirt, mug or other great "WGT" item at Show the world you are one of "The Wild Geese" Search WWW Search TheWildGeese.com E-mail us for more information about The Wild Geese Today Click to return to The Wild Geese Today's Home Page Copyright © 2003, GAR Media. All rights reserved.