The first professional theatre company to be based in the north-east, calling itself Upstate, has opened its account in Drogheda Arts Centre with a play by Gerhart Hauptmann, the great German playwright who won a Nobel Prize in 1912.

The Weavers tells the story of an exploited community in the mountain region of Silesia in the 1840s. Cotton-weavers were employed on piece-work by manufacturers who supplied the yarn and paid for the finished work at a bare subsistence rate. The workers virtually starved while their employers lived in mansions. Revolution erupted, had some brief success and was cruelly crushed.

In its day, the play was regarded as highly subversive, although the author allowed it to end in abject failure for the revolutionaries. Today, it still has echoes in the scavenging of multi-national industries for cheap labour in developing countries; and some of that relevance comes through in this gritty production.

Upstate's policy is community-based, and here local actors combine with experienced professionals to give a wholly persuasive interpretation. Most of them play several roles, with Gerry McCann, David Gorry, Stella Madden, Stephen Blount, Fiona Lalor and Conor Byrne notable in a generally strong cast.

Declan Gorman, the company's artistic director, directs this himself, and with considerable flair. He modulates words and action in a nicely exaggerated key, enough to add a sense of drama without hamming it, and choreographs occasional movements to the same effect. Fiona Leech's set is simple and effective, allowing full scope for the many shifts of scene. A very promising debut by a welcome new group.

Runs until September 27th; booking at 041-44227