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“I had been curious about the Irish side of my biracial family heritage,” says Ken Yoshikawa, author of From A Hole in the Ground, debuting Sept. 27 at Northwest Children’s Theater. “So I leapt at the chance to craft a story based in folklore.”
Such was the inception of From A Hole in the Ground, an original fairy tale written by Yoshikawa and inspired by the Irish folklore of their mixed heritage. Directed by Molly Griffith and produced by Portland’s Irish-centric Corrib Theatre, Yoshikawa’s whimsical tale follows two mischievous Irish fairies seeking to restore the balance of nature while a generational curse threatens to halt the turning of the seasons.
“I had been studying European tree religions and I came across a specific ritual that inspired my core characters, the Summer King and the Winter King,” continues Yoshikawa. “I wanted to explore the intersection of climate change, magic and intergenerational trauma on the periphery of this capitalist catastrophe.”
Within that intersection, Yoshikawa’s multitude of characters—played by Clare Aldridge, Olivia Mathews, and Jolen Sweeny—blossom inside the playwright’s imaginary world. A ghostly revenant, a Púca (a nocturnal, shape-shifting spirit from Celtic folklore), a river goddess, humans and even Death itself all make appearances, weaving a contemporary fairy tale from Celtic mythology while addressing modern anxieties head-on.
Initially produced for a more mature audience, this new incarnation tones down some of its more, ahem, inflammatory content to appeal to children as well as their caregivers. “The play was originally intended as children’s theatre for adults, with a focus on the inner child,” explains Yoshikawa. “For children’s theatre, we’ve had to pare down the gritty Irish slang and cussing that spiced up the first production.” Even with these adjustments, the spirit of the play remains.
The idea to reimagine the production for a younger audience came from Corrib Theatre director Molly Griffith, who approached Yoshikawa with the concept. “This production has been a return home for me, creatively,” Griffith explains. “As a director, I value the imaginative possibilities of live theatre—from a fairy garden to an urban living room to the bottom of a river—using props, costumes, and the theatre space itself to tell this story.”
More than a charming fable weighed down with moral platitudes, Yoshikawa’s script seizes the moment, inviting an intergenerational conversation about our contemporary world and the ancient mythologies that permeate our DNA. And since this new production welcomes all ages, its reach has extended far beyond the walls of Corrib Theatre.
“Community engagement is exciting because it means there are new groups I get to reach out to,” says stage manager Daye Thomas. “Libraries, children’s groups, parent networks, and schools, all in addition to the wonderful, consistent audience of the Irish community that attends all the Corrib shows.”
That said, attendees need not be of Irish descent to enjoy the performances, the artistry and the impeccable writing of From A Hole in the Ground.
“Ken’s writing is some of the richest and most resonant I know,” says Griffith. “His ability to turn a poetic phrase, to layer imagery into a plot, and to capture a particular actor’s voice make for a dream of a script. Few plays jump off the page so easily and with such imaginative sparkle.”
SEE IT: A Hole in the Ground at Northwest Children’s Theatre, 1000 SW Broadway, 503-222-2190, nwcts.org. Multiple showtimes Sept. 27–Oct. 5. $25–$35.
