GOD BLESS THE CHILD
ACCLAIMED FRANK O’CONNOR PLAY BEGINS NATIONAL TOUR AT
BALLYMALOE GRAINSTORE
Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 March 2015
First confessions are the hardest!
A play based on stories by Frank O’Connor
Adapted for the stage and directed by Patrick Talbot
God Bless the Child premiered in the Everyman Theatre in Cork last year to critical acclaim, and a word of mouth buzz that led to packed audiences for its week-long run.
Its success has inspired a national tour that will see the play based on Frank O’Connor’s short stories visit nine venues around Ireland. The tour begins in Ballymaloe Grainstore in Shanagarry, Co. Cork on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 March, and includes two full weeks in Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre.
The short stories of Cork-born Frank O’Connor are universally regarded as classics of their kind.
Now, for the first time, three of his funniest stories – My Oedipus Complex, The Genius, and First Confession – are brought together within a single full-length play, making a hugely entertaining and uplifting night of theatre.
Adapted for the stage and directed by Patrick Talbot, God Bless the Child has been hailed as ‘a laugh from the moment the adult actors came on stage….a highly entertaining adaptation’ (Irish Examiner) and ‘a thoroughly enjoyable parcelling of three of Ireland’s best short stories’ (Irish Times). The Munster Express said ‘It was a delight to hear the rich language provoke gales of laughter.’
Audiences will meet young Michael, who goes into mortal combat with his father when he returns from the First World War; Larry, a genius who can’t understand why the world can’t keep up with him; and Jackie, who has the grim task of not only making his first confession and communion, but must also deal with his very obstreperous grandmother.
Richly evocative of Ireland in the early decades of the 20th century, funny and moving, and featuring memorable performances, God Bless the Child is a must see.
God Bless the Child stars Ciaran Bermingham (Game of Thrones, Killnaskully, Bittersweet, and The Tudors), Shane Casey (The Republic of Telly, The Wind That Shakes the Barley) and Gary Murphy (Love/Hate, The Tudors, The Clinic, Ripper Street, Moone Boy, and The Vikings).
Patrick Talbot Productions has presented numerous shows at Ballymaloe Grainstore including The Love Hungry Farmer by John B. Keane with Des Keogh; Tuesdays with Morrie; Gay Byrne: Live on Stage (twice); Phil Coulter; Pat Kinevane in his plays Silent and Forgotten; Rebecca Storm; Cara O Sullivan; Sharon Shannon; Staring at Lakes with Michael Harding; Finbar Furey; Jimmy Crowley and Stoker’s Lodge, and many more.
Tickets for God Bless the Child in Ballymaloe Grainstore on Wednesday 4 and Thuursday 5 March are €23. They can be booked on www.ballymaloegrainstore.com
or on (021) 465 1555.
