Sixties kitchen-sink revival finds its feet after a slow start

The Unmanageable Sisters is a vibrant but muddled portrayal of 15 working-class women who could be ruling the world – if only Ireland’s patriarchal society hadn’t reduced them to what they agree is 'a dreary, rotten life'

Clare Barrett, Marion O’Dwyer, Karen Ardiff and Rachael Dowling in The Unmanageable Sisters Pic: Ros Kavanagh

The Unmanageable Sisters

By Deirdre Kinahan

Abbey Theatre, Dublin

Rating:***

Runs until April 7

‘Do I look like someone that’s ever won anything?” This is the sardonic question repeated by several characters in The Unmanageable Sisters, Deirdre Kinahan’s new version of the groundbreaking 1968 drama Les Belles-Soeurs by French-Canadian playwright Michel Tremblay. Relocated here to 1970s Dublin, it’s a vibrant but muddled portrayal of 15 working-class women who could be ruling the world ...