At the Hawk's Well

For 50 years, Old Man has camped on a desolate mountainside, hoping to get a drink of the miraculous water said to offer immortality. But every time the water rises in the well, he is overcome with a sudden urge to sleep. A young man named Cuchulain arrives, convinced he will successfully drink from the well. Drawing from Irish mythology and heavily influenced by Japanese Noh Theatre, this one-act play is highly stylized and symbolic, with a patterned screen representing the scenery and the well represented by a blue cloth. The actors move like puppets and wear masks or makeup to represent a mask. Three musicians play a gong, a drum, and a zither to underscore their movements. The play is written in verse, lending poetry to the language. This one-act play is a valuable resource for exploring both Noh theatre and Irish mythology.