High
Time is a free translation of Molière's L'Ecole
des Maris (The School for Husbands).
In verse that is inventive, witty and graceful, Derek Mahon's
boisterous comedy propounds the lesson of how older men should treat
young women — if they are not to lose them.
High Time was first staged by Field Day in Derry in September 1984,
a production acclaimed by Fintan O'Toole of The Sunday Tribune
as 'entirely in keeping with the playfulness of Mahon's brilliant
translation. Mahon uses rhyme with a deft abandon, playing on
the qualities of the verse itself, making language not just an
instrument of the fun but a great running joke in itself.'