Can something be ugly and funny at the same time, serious and yet ridiculous, believable and yet absurd? Can something be of a specific place and time and yet be for the ages? The answer is absolutely a resounding ‘yes’, especially if it is the Tate family home and farm in Southern California and especially if it is the Sam Shepard play written about it and called tellingly ‘The Curse of the Starving Class’ and presented by Ballyduff Drama Group on February 22nd, 23rd, 25th and 27th.

This is an ugly home populated by an ugly set of family members. They are all dark and dingy characters and seriously damaged. But they have each a tale to tell – a human story full of pathos and truth and peppered with no little humour – and Shepard tells their stories brilliantly. He is regarded as the greatest living American playwright and one of the very best writing in the English language. He has won most every award for his work that is worth winning including Obie awards and Pulitzer prizes. His writing digs deep into the heart of America and regularly scrapes at its soul and the set of principles that is at its core, such as freedom and democracy and, in this play, capitalism, the family and the American Dream or, perhaps more importantly, its failure. Because, as every time someone ploughs ahead to success and riches, somebody else is left behind.

It is a pity that this play wasn’t seen and understood in Ireland about twenty years ago by people such as politicians, bankers and developers. Because it examines greed and over-ambition and the tainted smell of ‘invisible money’, and the ultimate collapse of it all. Other components of this work are fraudulent land deals, alcohol abuse and our total inability to escape our pasts. It is rural California but it might be Connemara or just over the road. Because the themes are universal. This might be a play about misery but it is far from miserable itself. Because the thing is showered with bitter, biting comic interludes and very, very black humour.

This is the first Sam Shepard play to be undertaken by director Ger Canning, but in her experienced hands and with the lead parts in the trusted hands of such as Valerie O’Leary, Courtney Canning, Richie Walsh and Aoife Walsh and with an extremely strong supporting cast, this should be another classic Ballyduff production.

In the plays of Sam Shepard, you are more likely to see maggots rather than butterflies – but you are also much more likely to see biting, comic and important truths than you are to see a flaky wispish image of who we might like to think we are. This is an important piece of work and will be a great theatrical night and with a simple promise which is: “if you do see it, then I guarantee that you won’t forget it”

Venue is St Michael’s Hall, Ballyduff, and with booking at (058) 60456 from Feb 14th – also see www.ballyduffdrama.com for details.