Much Ado About A Tout

Irish Rep Presents Stuart Carolan's Haunting Defender Of The Faith

By John Mooney

After staging revivals of old plays (The Hairy Ape and Meet Me In St. Louis) this season, the Irish Rep decided to do something more contemporary. Set in 1986 Northern Ireland, Stuart Carolan's Defender of the Faith examines loyalty and trust within a family of IRA supporters. When operations are compromised by an informer (a "tout") who tips off the British, an IRA investigator arrives to find out who has done the unthinkable. Five years after the hunger strikes of 1981, the characters live in a state of divided loyalties and paranoia generated by the presence of an informer in their midst.

Thomas (Luke Kirby), the oldest surviving son in the family, goes through a powerful range of emotions. Grieving over the mysterious death of his older brother, he is constantly at odds with his imperious father (Anton Nolan). The two simply cannot conduct a conversation without antagonizing each other. The patriarch of the family has long been involved in IRA operations, yet has come under suspicion by an intimidating operative whose mission is to identify and eliminate the tout. All fingers seem to point to Barney, one of the farm's long-time hired hands, but no one is beyond suspicion. The consequences of being identified as a tout are particularly grim.

So just who is the Defender of the Faith ... and what Faith is it?

When it opened at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 2004, the play received huge acclaim and earned Carolan the prestigious George Devine Award for most promising playwright. The play's dialogue includes some rough language that may offend some members of the audience, as well as violent images that are not for the faint of heart.

Those who are not well versed in the history of "The Troubles" may be unfamiliar with hunger striker Francis Hughes, referenced early in the play. However, the drama focuses primarily on the difficult relationships of one family living near the border of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The Irish Rep has never feared treading on rough topics, and Defender of the Faith offers events as tumultuous as any previously presented on its stage.