Hushabye Mountain

Fri May 7th - Sat 8th, 8pm

Hushabye Mountain is a play full of love, pain, laughs and friendship, set in a world that has learned to live with the destruction of AIDS.

The play centres around a group of three friends, Connor, Lana and Lee who are trying to deal with the recent bereavement of their closest friend, Danny, who died from an AIDS related illness.

Lana and Danny met at college and became best friends. When Lana met the love of her life Lee and began dating him, it wasn't long until Danny was introduced to Lee's brother Connor and subsequently began dating him. Thus they became a merry foursome and exceptionally close friends.

Within the first three scenes in the play we meet all the main characters.The opening scene is set outside of Heaven where we See Danny passing through the Pearly Gates. The second scene is that of Danny's Mother sitting in a psychiatric ward, being visited by Connor, Danny's widowed lover. And the third scene is of Lana and Lee's wedding day. All the scenes are set in the present tense and so straight away we get a picture of where exactly our characters are in their present lives. From here on in the play shuffles from the present to the past, with almost every scene set in the present, drifting into a flashback.

Each flashback is someone's memory of a particularly important time they shared with Danny in the past, from New Year's Eves to first kisses to dinner parties etc.

Throughout the play, we also take time out to visit Danny in the present who is stranded on a cloud outside Heaven, in the company of Judy Garland, waiting to see if the Gods are ready to permit him to Heaven or not. It becomes clear that it is Connor who is finding it the hardest on Earth, to come to terms with Danny's death. And with the help of Danny's estranged Mother Beryl, we discover that it is Connor's reluctance to let go that is in fact preventing Danny from entering Heaven. Realising this in the final scene, Connor begins to let go....

Show Reviews

"Biscuits for Breakfast presented Jonathan Harvey's 'Hush Abye Mountain' and this may yet prove to be the 'surprise' hit of the Festival. Staged by graduates of various acting colleges, this talented cast portrayed a range of acting skills to great effect, in a most entertaining evening of theatre. Why do people ever only quote Harvey's 'Beautiful Thing'?, when 'Hush Abye Mountain' is a work of equally meritorious standing, and this production did full justice to the author. Technically, the modest budget impacted on its presentation, and as is frequently the case in Fringe Festival, the short 'get-in' times can adversely affect continuity, but these minor flaws paled in the face of a rich, diverse and colourful display of sheer acting talent. Most notably amongst a highly competent cast were David Malone (Connor), who portrayed the ideal gay partner, attractive, intelligent, emotional mmmm, Sharon Sexton his passionate v.b.f. (Lana), Vincent Moran her boyfriend (Lee) in an enthralling portrayal of a himbo with a heart and Claire Barret's multifaceted and brilliant mother/Judy Garland et al. Eoin Slattery as the deceased Danny and Rob Browne as Kevin/Ben made a good contribution to this strong night of drama and entertainment. Directed with depth by Sharon Sexton, this production reached fearlessly into all the issues surrounding AIDS related bereavement, dysfunctional families, the youth/drug culture, cross sexuality friendships, with great humour, maturity and empathy. The packed audience roared its approval, and the plaudits were well deserved. A production company to watch!" - Gordon Farrell, Scene City - June 2004