The Horror of Selling a Girl

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In the role of Sive, actress Wrenn Schmidt has hard work to wring life from what is essentially a damsel in distress role. We learn early on that Sive's parents are dead, and that cruel Mena wants her out of the house by marrying her off to the lecherous old ogre Sean Dota (played by Christopher Joseph Jones), a rich old wanton who lives in the nearby town.

Objecting to this absurd May-December wedding is Sive's grandmother Nanna and her true love, the virile young Liam Scuab, both of whom become the moral center of a thoroughly amoral tale. The cruelty of her fate leaves Sive sobbing her heart out at the unfairness of it all, and the story builds to a tragic climax.

Interestingly, Keane's dramatic instincts led him to include a pair of gypsy musicians into the proceedings to highlight and underscore the conflicts of interest that give shape to the play. Performed by Donie Carroll and James Barry, their presence adds immeasurably to the work, aiding both the theme and the setting.

The denouement, when it arrives, reminds us what a terrible thing it is to sacrifice what's best in our own natures for a financial profit that may prove fleeting.

Ciaran O'Reilly understands that Keane's chief concern is to show how human greed can blind decency, and in this thoughtful production he allows his actors the scope to discover it.

(Sive plays at the Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 West 22nd Street in New York, until November 11. Showtimes Tuesday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. Visit www.irishrep.org.)

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