A GALWAY GIRL/A BELFAST BOY

Two different one-act plays reflecting two quite different love stories.

Both plays directed by John Dunne and Mary Tynan, featuring Mary Tynan and Chris Paddon.

A Galway Girl, by Geraldine Aron, is one of the plays with which the prestigious Galway-based Druid Theatre Company started to make its name. The play tells the story of a couple from the early years of their marriage up until late middle age, and the life that is portrayed ranges from tender through amusing to banal and, at times, tragic.

A Belfast Boy, written by John Dunne, features Dave's return to Belfast after forty years away. He is an English catholic who meets up with his first love, Annie, a Belfast protestant. As they reflect on their early life, the past creeps up on both characters and that past begins to invade their present.

A Galway Girl produced by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc with support from London's Galway Association

Next performance: 
Club for Acts and Actors, 20 Bedford Street, Covent Garden WC2 on Fri 19th March @ 8pm admission free (donations welcome)

What the Press have said...

Camden New Journal
Before the action got under way, one wondered how a cast of only two actors could bring these entirely different stories to life. However, once the lights were dimmed such fears were assuaged as we were transported to the less than happy home of Dermot and Maisie as they told the story of their troubled marriage in Geraldine Aron's A Galway Girl. Mary Tynan and Chris Paddon managed to make the amusing yet tragic tale realistic without being dull. It was easy to believe that the story probably takes place in homes everywhere.

John Dunne's A Belfast Boy moved the night to a central Belfast hotel where Dave and Annie, a pair of one-time teenage sweethearts from very different backgrounds were now reunited after many years. The dialogue flowed seamlessly and both actors slipped into their new roles without a hint of regard for Dermot and Maisie.

Both productions are engaging, amusing and left the audience with a lot to think about.


The Irish World
London Irish Theatre presents two one-act plays, each distinctly different yet both exploring love under stress. Both plays are acted by Mary Tynan and Chris Paddon, and directed by John Dunne and Mary Tynan.

Geraldine Aron’s internationally acclaimed A Galway Girl was one of Druid Theatre Company’s earlier plays. It tells the story of a couple from the early years of their marriage up until late middle age. The tensions of married life are drawn with subtlety by both Mary Tynan and Chris Paddon, whose perfectly-paced interactions illuminate the complex power struggles hidden inside even the most mundane of events as their characters mark not only the passing of the years, but also illustrate that— despite all — true love prevails…after a fashion.

John Dunne’s A Belfast Boy is an edgier play, adapted from his original play Belfast, which received critical acclaim when first produced in the 1980s. It features the reunion of Dave and Annie, former teenage sweethearts from opposite sides of the political divide. As they reflect on their earlier liaison-and its violent conclusion, the past begins to invade their present. In the course of the play, both Annie and Dave are on an emotional journey, giving each actor the opportunity to demonstrate an admirable range as they portray their characters’ respective realisations about where their paths have led with maturity and depth.

Simply directed by Dunne and Tynan (with additional help from Paddon), these two plays are well worth catching.

A GALWAY GIRL/A BELFAST BOY

Two different one-act plays reflecting two quite different love stories.

Both plays directed by John Dunne and Mary Tynan, featuring Mary Tynan and Chris Paddon.

A Galway Girl, by Geraldine Aron, is one of the plays with which the prestigious Galway-based Druid Theatre Company started to make its name. The play tells the story of a couple from the early years of their marriage up until late middle age, and the life that is portrayed ranges from tender through amusing to banal and, at times, tragic.

A Belfast Boy, written by John Dunne, features Dave's return to Belfast after forty years away. He is an English catholic who meets up with his first love, Annie, a Belfast protestant. As they reflect on their early life, the past creeps up on both characters and that past begins to invade their present.

Geraldine Aron is an internationally renowned playwright with many credits to her name, including an Olivier Award nomination for My Brilliant Divorce which starred Dawn French in the Apollo Theatre. Her other plays include The Donahue Sisters and Same Old Moon (Guilgud Theatre). She has also had her work extensively performed across the world with many plays also appearing on television, radio and film. She has a long-standing association with the Druid Theatre. Geraldine was born in Galway and was educated in Dublin and London. She has lived in Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa and now lives in London.

John Dunne has been writing, directing and producing Irish work for a number of years. As a writer he has penned a trilogy of Irish plays, Famine, 1916 and Belfast (from which Belfast Boy is adapted) –  all performed to critical acclaim on the London stage.  He has also adapted Liam O’Flaherty’s The Informer which won a Time Out Critics Choice when performed at the King’s Head. As a director and producer John has worked on new plays, classic adaptations and issue plays. His Irish productions include Tom O'Brien's Johnjo, Behan's Women, Down Bottle Alley and On Raglan Road  as well as An Island’s Lament  by Mary Hoey. John has recently produced six new plays within six weeks at the London Irish Centre.

Mary Tynan (Actor/ Director) has been nursing the idea of staging a production of A Galway Girl for the best part of two years. She has been involved with the London Irish Theatre since its formation in January 2009, with A Galway Girl/A Belfast Boy being her fourth full-length production with the company. She has worked extensively in London fringe theatre, appearing in such venues as the Etcetera Theatre, The Space, the Lion and Unicorn Theatre, the White Bear, the ICA and the Roundhouse. On screen, Mary’s proudest credit is a leading role in the zombie horror short, Stock Take, filmed in Bournemouth earlier this year. Mary’s writing has been published in several newspapers, including the London Evening Standard, and she has previously worked as a professional musician.

Chris Paddon (Actor) started working with the London Irish Theatre this summer, and has been rapidly making up for lost time, with this also being his fourth full-length production. Chris studied Drama at Roehampton University, and has been a long standing member of the Tower Theatre, winning the Frank Smith award, and playing a range of high-profile roles including Christy Mahon and Hamlet, performing in the Bridewell Theatre and Theatro Technis, as well as Le Jardin, Paris, as part of Shakespeare in Paris. He has also appeared in several short films. When not onstage, Chris turns his hands to technical roles including sound, lighting, and other aspects of stage management.