Where There is Nothing

A spirited portrait of early‑twentieth‑century Irish country life, this play opens on a sun‑lit lawn where croquet hoops and garden chairs frame a modest household. The Ruttledge brothers, Thomas and Paul, move among neighbors and strangers, their banter tinged with the peculiar humor of a hedge trimmed into farmyard fowl. Through their casual exchanges, the scene hints at deeper currents—old folklore, lingering myths, and the yearning to capture a vanished rural spirit.

The drama balances everyday concerns with the echo of ancient legends. As Paul carves a Cochin‑China bird into the hedge, the audience senses a world where ordinary chores coexist with the presence of legendary figures like Cathleen ni Hoolihan, whose story haunts the playwright’s imagination. Yeats’s love for Irish folklore and his desire to hear the genuine voice of the countryside pulse through the dialogue, inviting listeners to step into a world where the mundane and the magical meet on a simple garden path.