Beyond definitions

It seems to me a source of great optimism and stimulation that it is difficult to speak generally about these plays," writes UCD theatre studies academic Cathy Leeney in the introduction to Seen and Heard, a collection of six new plays by Irish women, published by Carysfort Press (£14.99). The texts, edited by Leeney, are Women In Arms by Mary Elizabeth Burke-Kennedy, Couch by Siofra Campbell, I Know My Own Heart by Emma Donoghue, La CorbiΦre by Anne Le Marquand Hartigan, The Lost Letters of a Victorian Lady by Michelle Read and In the Talking Dark by Dolores Walshe, all of which have been performed in small venues by enterprising theatre companies over the past decade. As Leeney observes, these plays are notably diverse and adventurous in theme and form and it's great to see them in print.