Proudly hosted by the Linenhall this week is The Visit, as Blanchardstown based theatre company Draoicht bring their touring play to Mayo on Thursday, June 2. Centered around Rose, played by Mary O’Driscoll, this masterpiece of new theatre writing is brought vividly to dramatic life by Ireland’s foremost playwright, Deirdre Kinahan.
We meet Rose as she stands on the empty stage, looking out into the auditorium. Imagining what it will be like when it is full. Which it will be. Tonight. When the clown choir performs. She has washed and ironed her cowgirl shirt and skirt.
She likes the way the fringe swings when she wears it. It makes her feel glamorous. In the quiet of the theatre, she finds herself thinking back on the events of that morning, the events of last year, even the last twenty years. When did she stop being herself? Rose thinks about her dead husband Stephen, and her sons, and the man who knocked on her door.
Rose’s story is that of a woman who opens up her front door to find a world of new possibilities, after the death of her dominating and deeply controlling husband. Funny, heart-warming and touching, it explores a hidden social reality we are only beginning to understand. Adventurous and brave, theatre goers are taken on a journey with Rose, as she reunites with her community and begins meeting new people.
Following its premiere at Dublin Theatre Festival 2021, Draíocht is delighted to present The Visit, a play about personal hope directed for stage by Veronica Coburn, to audiences nationwide on a ten venue tour as part of their 21st birthday celebrations.
The award-winning playwright and member of Aosdána, Ireland’s elected body of outstanding artists, Deirdre Kinahan is currently Associate Artist with Meath County Council Arts Office. Her plays are translated into many languages, published by Nick Hern Books and produced regularly in Ireland and internationally.
Actor Mary O’Driscoll most recently filmed the role of Mrs Kennedy in popular TV series Smother Season 2. Prior to that, she appeared on stage in The Country Girls and The Unmanageable Sisters at the Abbey Theatre. Other screen credits include Can’t Cope Won’t Cope, for RTE and BBC3; the role of Mrs Keble in the feature film The Bookshop; and John Crowley’s Brooklyn alongside Saoirse Ronan, Julie Walters and Domhnall Gleeson.
For further information please contact the Linenhall box office on (094 ) 9023733 or see www.thelinenhall.com
