The Countess and the Leabians - 3 night only!! Liberty Hall from Thursday August 21st to Saturday 23rd August at 8.30pm, with a matinee on Saturday 23rd at 3pm. Tickets from  8721122.

Any queer woman could be forgiven for thinking that no gay women existed in the years between Sappho (bi) and kd lang (dyke). It may surprise you to hear that lesbians not only lived but were socially and politically active throughout the intervening years.

This is something playwright Carolyn Gage takes seriously, very seriously. On a visit to Dublin a couple of years ago, she did the tour of Kilmainham and was horrified that, when, upon arriving at the cell of 1916 rebel Countess Markiewicz, her role in the Rising was virtually ignored. Being a woman of action, Gage did some research.

“She couldn’t believe it,” recalls director Sheila O’Reilly. “Instead the only woman they concentrated on (Grace Gifford) was pregnant and married her lover (Joseph Plunkett) the night before he was shot. So, in true style, she went investigating convinced there had to be a lesbian in there somewhere, as there always is, and found Eva Gore-Booth her sister who was active in the Rising too but not as far on the front lines as Countess Markiewicz. The reault is the play The Countess and the Lesbians.”

Chatting to Sheila and actress Gina Costigan on a pretty miserable Sunday afternoon, it’s obvious the two are as passionate about queer visablity and the derth of good female roles in Irish theatre. I have to keep reminding myself that this is an interview and not a fascinating chat with friends. It’s difficult though, as they are warm and engaging. Something which can also be said of the play.

Says Sheila, “The Countess and the Lesbians is a classic play within a play. The play within is a historical documentary, about Countess Markiewicz and her sisters. In classic tradition, the play without becomes a love triangle. It’s an analogy between the struggle of Ireland against England and the struggles between lovers, that realisation of power and responsibility.”

“There is some mirroring between the director/writer and Countess Markiewicz and then her lover plays Eva Gore-Booth,” adds Gina.

“If Countess Markiewicz is sometimes overlooked, Eva is completely ignored in history. Before we did the play I had never heard of Eva Gore-Booth, but these women, these lesbians are part of our history and I think that the full houses prove that people are willing to re-educate themselves”.

This re-education by film-goers, theatre-goers, readers and everyone in between is vital for the queer community.

” Everybody needs role models and images which reflect ourselves, not just in history but on stage, in films, in book,” says Sheila.

“You need to see that you’re not the only one and that you are as vital as anyone else. Otherwise you can believe that you’re not as worthy a part of society as others and that your voice isn’t as relevant as everyone else.

“In Dublin at the moment, you have African plays, plays written by and about Travellers – plays about people who would otherwise be unseen by many or can be seen in a bad light. It’s important for those voices to be heard and those stories told”.

“Even if you look at the Gay theatre Festival,” agrees Gina. “It has grown every year and we were sold out every night, so it shows how hungry people are for representations of themselves. The thirst is there for knowledge”.

Having staged The Countess and the Lesbians at The Dublin Gay Theatre Festival to huge acclaim (the festival even re-named their Best Actress Award, the Eva Gore-Booth Award), the crew are getting the chance to perform again in Liberty Hall this weekend.

“When we met first about putting on the play, our main focus was to put on something really good,” says Sheila.

“We wanted to set the bar really high, be as professional as possible with the production. People deserve that. However, anyone who puts on a play, looks at it and thinks “maybe we could’ve done that,” or “I’d love to do it again,” and we’re getting that chance.

“We went back via email to Caroline and she edited the piece and done a re-write. It’s much tighter now. The characters are much better rounded. I have to say, it’s very exciting for everyone involved from on stage to back stage”.

“We’re staging it in a larger theatre and on a larger stage and it’s amazing how much it changes the play,” agrees Gina.

“Obviously it’s the same play but the characters can breathe more in the larger space. It’s been a really great opportunity to go back to something and look at it all over again”.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for queer woman to breathe life into real people who lived in a time we only read about from a Catholic male perspective. Take the first step in re-possessing your heritage - go see The Countess and the Leabians.

Links (open in new window):

Eva Gore-Booth

Carolyn Gage