A Bleak Chapter of Irish History in ‘The Clearing’

The troubles in 20th century Irish history pale in comparison to those in the 17th century, judging from Helen Edmundson’s “The Clearing,” produced by Burbank’s Colony Theatre Company.

The play is a bleak but fascinating account of how English Protestant forces, during the reign of Oliver Cromwell, applied what is now known as ethnic cleansing to parts of Ireland, seizing land owned by the Irish and even by their English sympathizers and moving the evicted ones to the rugged Connaught province. Those who didn’t cooperate were subject to the gallows.

Edmundson personalized the drama by focusing on a mixed marriage: Robert Preston (David Rose) is English, and Madeleine Preston (Denise Dillard) is Irish. As the play opens, their son is born, and hopes are high. But their cozy family begins to unravel along with the political situation.

That situation is so dramatic that perhaps Edmundson didn’t feel compelled to deepen the characters.

Madeleine is strong, free-spirited, heedless of danger. Robert is more complicated: ambivalent, cautious, ultimately weak. But Robert’s choices feel slightly over-managed by Edmundson, as if she’s determined to maintain a bad/good schism that somewhat erodes the play’s power.

Robert’s position is especially unsympathetic because his allegiances are swayed by a stern English martinet (Chad Borden), who lacks any human feeling.

Edmundson did create one amiable Englishman (Blaise Messinger), whose loyalties to the deposed king make him and his sour wife (Alison Shanks) a target of Cromwell’s minions almost as much as the Irish.

Two additional Irish characters, Madeleine’s dear friend and helper (Faith Salie) and a guerrilla fighter (Timothy O’Hare) who once aroused romantic feelings in both Madeleine and her friend, are seen as much closer to the spirits of the land than the invading English. This point of view approaches stereotype in a wordless sequence at the start of the play that was added by director Robert O’Reilly.

After this initial misstep, O’Reilly’s staging is replete with solid performances. Rose and Dillard make the passion between Robert and Madeleine palpable in the first part of the play, and they also chart its later decline. A big set of rocky terrain and swirling skies serves many locations, leaving little space for an actual clearing.

As an examination of a perilous political situation, with religious antagonisms in play, “The Clearing” has a few lines that resonate more than they would have before Sept. 11. Though it’s set more than 300 years ago, this play is no respite from the current tensions.

But for those who seek more than escape, “The Clearing” clears away some of the cobwebs from a brutal historical chapter.

*

“The Clearing,” Burbank Center Stage, 555 N. 3rd St., Burbank. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Dark Nov. 1, 8, 9, 15, 16. Ends Nov. 18. $25-$28. (818) 558-7000. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.

David Rose: Robert Preston

Denise Dillard: Madeleine Preston

Blaise Messinger: Solomon Winter

Alison Shanks: Susaneh Winter

Faith Salie: Killaine Farrell

Timothy O’Hare: Pierce Kinsellagh

Chad Borden: Sir Charles Sturman

Robert Budaska: Commissioner/Sailor/Judge

By Helen Edmundson. Directed by Robert O’Reilly. Set by Barbara Grill. Lighting by Matthew O. O’Donnell. Sound by Gary Christensen. Costumes by A. Jeffrey Schoenberg. Stage manager John Robert Kocur.