LOVE, SEX, birth, death, dildos and salsa classes: bittersweet comedy Little Gem by Elaine Murphy sees three generations of Dublin women on a wild and constantly surprising journey which has proved an international theatrical smash.
After sell-out seasons in New York, London, and Paris, a sold-out seven-week run at the Abbey and a run at the Olympia, Gúna Nua and Civic Theatre are now bringing Little Gem on a countrywide tour that comes to the Town Hall Theatre from Tuesday May 3 to Saturday 7.
Kay’s got an itch that Gem can’t scratch (but maybe Kermit can ). Lorraine attacks a customer at work and her boss wants her to see a psychiatrist. Amber has fierce bad indigestion and the sambucas aren’t getting rid of it.
Then there’s Paul who is just using Amber until he can get to Australia; the hairy man who fancies Lorraine but fails to rise to the occasion; and of course Gem, who does not like the neighbours coming in to ‘mind’ him. If all that wasn’t bad enough, Little Gem makes his presence felt and life is never the same again.
Under the direction of Paul Meade, the cast - Birdy Beman, Anne Kent and Neili Conroy - interweave their characters’ life experiences as they cope with modern life’s daily pressures and the heart-breaking toll of inevitable tragedies, expertly blending slapstick humour and sharp comic timing with strength, courage and honesty.
Little Gem premiered at the 2008 Dublin Fringe Festival where it was a sell-out success and received the Dublin Fringe Festival/Fishamble Best New Play and Best Female Performance Awards (awarded to the entire cast ).
Little Gem was subsequently awarded the BBC Northern Ireland Drama Award (Stewart Parker Trust Annual Awards ). It played at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2009 and was awarded the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award.
On returning to Dublin it won the Best Theatre Script awarded by the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild. The show premiered in the US at The Flea Theatre, New York in January 2010 and that same month had a sell-out run at the Peacock.
In March, 2010 the show opened at the Bush Theatre in London where it ran for seven weeks before touring to Paris and this year it has toured to Australia. Everywhere it has gone, the play has been a huge hit with audiences and critics alike.
Ahead of the play’s Galway run Anne Kent, who plays the grandmother Kay, offered her thoughts on why Little Gem has proved such a success.
“I think it’s down to the truthfulness of the lives of these women,” she observes. “It’s a very human story and there’s a lot of humour juxtaposed with sadness. It can be hard-hitting yet it’s also heartwarming.
“People really connect with these three characters, and it’s a play that’s not just for women, it’s also very much about the men in their lives. Even though the men don’t appear onstage the skill of Elaine’s writing ensures that they are vividly evoked.”
Kent goes on to describe the character of Kay.
“She’s a tough nut who came up through the school of hard knocks,” she says, “but there is a softness there also and a certain naivety which is lovely. She’s a joy of a character to play as she’s so real. She’s one of those women who are always fighting for her family even though there are times when she isn’t able to help.”
Kay also bucks the granny stereotype, notably in the memorable scene where she goes into Anne Summers to buy a dildo. Kent chuckles heartily as she describes the scene.
“Her husband is ill and so nothing’s happening between them and she goes to her doctor for advice,” she says, “but on the way she meets a friend who gives her far better advice than the doctor could which leads her to visit Anne Summers. Kay is definitely not your archetypal granny. It amazes me that Elaine was only in her 20s when she wrote the play because she really does have great insight into the older characters.”
Kent will be most familiar to audiences for her six-year stint with Fair City, playing Angela O’Connell, mother of Monzo. She recalls the experience fondly.
“That was a great six years,” she says. “It was great playing with people like Mick Nolan and Vinnie McCabe and Angela had some great romantic tangles. There was a wonderful family feeling among the people in the show. I’ve missed it, but there’s been some talk of Angela coming back so we’ll have to wait and see.”
In the meantime, Kent continues to revel in the theatrical jewel that is Little Gem.
Tickets are available from the Town Hall on 091 - 569777 and www.tht.ie
