Refuge review: A thrillingly weird opening becomes a true story from Ireland’s past
The play 'Refuge' by Deirdre Kinahan explores the historical experience of the Irish Palatines, a group of German Protestants who settled in Ireland in the 18th century. The production blends historical narrative with surreal, expressionistic elements to examine themes of displacement and belonging.
Why it matters
The play sheds light on a lesser-known chapter of Irish history while drawing parallels to contemporary themes of migration and colonial displacement.
An old carriage shed at Castle Matrix, in Co Limerick. A broken-down carriage, a dusty mirror, walls thick with ivy. A tree.
In expressionistic dance movements, a man in a grey tracksuit (Matthew Williamson) beats up a young Afghan man, Zabi (Sabah Qalo). Zabi runs, crawls under the carriage and falls asleep. When he wakes, a red-haired woman in 18th-century peasant dress, Hannah (Hannah von Peinen), is kneeling beside him.
This is the thrillingly weird opening of Deirdre Kinahan ’s new play.
Refuge tells the true and not well-known story of the Irish Palatines. Beginning in 1709, thousands of Protestants fled the German Palatinate after years of war, religious persecution and a devastatingly cold winter. Sir Thomas Southwell was among the Anglo-Irish landlords who settled Palatine families on his Co Limerick estate, around Rathkeale. His settlement there became one of the few Palatine communities in Ireland to endure.
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