Heavenly Creatures

It began with Plautus circa 200 b.c., and has reached us today via multiple versions as by Moliere, Heinrich von Kleist and now - after the latter - John Banville. Certainly one of the most adapted plays in dramatic history, the new Amphitryon, now called God's Gift, is in the hands of Barabbas, probably the most innovative and funny group in Irish theatre at present. Among the lead characters are Jupiter and Mercury, two gods seeking diversion. Here they land in Ireland in the middle of the 1798 rebellion. The mind boggles at the thought of the new adventures of Vinegar Hill, and what Father Murphy (not a character) might make of them. All will be revealed in the O'Reilly Theatre, Belvedere College, Dublin on Thursday next.