The Country Girls

Garter Lane Theatre, Waterford Until Nov 5 8pm 051-855038 garterlane.ie; Gaiety Theatre, Dublin Nov 7-12 8pm 01-6771717 gaietytheatre.ie

History repeats itself, wrote Marx, first as tragedy, second as farce. But Edna O’Brien’s theatrical adaptation of her debut novel, 41 years later, suggests another afterlife, first as a banned book publicly decried and privately devoured, second as a bright, attractively designed and achingly nostalgic crowd-pleaser. There’s something revealing about that discrepancy in this co-production between Red Kettle Theatre Company and Garter Lane Arts Centre, directed by Mikel Murfi, one that takes O’Brien’s rather daring, Gothic-tinged exploration of sexuality, society and selfhood in 1950s Ireland, and decorates it with vintage Bovril ads, kitsch Virgin Mary statues, bright-eyed nuns in starched wimples and impossibly pretty girls in blonde ringlets or brunette cascades.

Some will see this as a sort of triumph – a post- Catholic depiction of our repressive history retold with the confidence that accommodates both a bicycle and a revolving stage (à la Conall Morrison's Tarry Flynn). But others will see in it – and in particular one awkward moment designed simply to jolt – a clear sign that you can't go back. Then again, would we want to?

Can’t See That? Catch This

The Rehearsal: Playing the DaneDunamaise Arts Centre, Laois