THE ABSOLUT FRINGE 2012 has more than 100 shows playing out across Dublin until 23 September. Each day, TheJournal.ie will bring you our readers’ reviews of the pick of the crop and everything in between. You’ll get the chance to get in on the act yourself with our daily reader review tickets giveaway!

Today’s review: Green Street

(Percolate)

Hugh Cardiff’s review: On entering Green Court the audience is divided into four groups, my group first entered the cell beneath the courtroom, where Tom Joyce, charged with the murder of a Connemara family, and worried of rumours that he has ‘turned’ on the Land League.

A priest visits with some dubious advice before we’re led into the Judge’s room, where actor Daniel Reardon prepares for the trial, questioning “what happens when someone declares war on society?” and knowing that a difficult decision awaits. We’re then issued through the defence counsel’s and back office rooms before entering the courtroom.

The trials covered span 200 years, from Robert Emmet , the Maamtrasna murders of 1803 to the murder of Garda Michael Reynolds in 1976, all linked by the assailant’s struggles for full independence, and while the court scenes can be confusing at times, jumping seamlessly from one trial to another, it is totally engrossing. This is a must-see site-specific event of the Fringe, and opens up a new avenue for historical re-enactments.

In three words? Tense. Absorbing. Involving.

Read more Fringe Fest reviews in a nutshell>

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