Theatre: A fitful cross-border journey for Riordan’s Train of thought
Riordan uses real historical material to bolster his interrogation of the history of gender politics in Ireland
The Train
By Arthur Riordan
Abbey Theatre, Dublin
On tour
Rating:***
Arthur Riordan’s latest historical musical, The Train, unfolds in “the epic present tense”. Although the events take place in 1971, he has his eye on contemporary political issues too: namely, the continued control that the government holds over female reproductive rights.
The stage action centres around the smuggling of contraceptives over the border from Belfast by members of the Irish Women’s Liberation ...
