First confessions are the hardest!
God Bless the Child: A play based on stories by Frank O Connor Adapted for the stage at the Lyric and directed by Patrick Talbot.
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Shane Casey, Liam Heffernan and Gary Murphy in God Bless the Child set to show at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.[/caption]
The short stories of Cork born Frank O’Connor are universally regarded as being classics of their kind. Now, for the first time, three of those funniest stories: ‘My Oedipus Complex’, ‘The Genius’ and ‘First Confession’ are brought together within a single full-length play.
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.
The man behind this new adaptation, producer, adaptor and director Patrick Talbot, explained how God Bless the Child proved a great critical success when it premiered in Cork last year to packed audiences. He said: “The reactions we had were terrific. People have really enjoyed the way these wonderful stories have come to life on stage. Frank O’ Connor’s writing is so deliciously insightful. And now we’re very excited to bring the production to Belfast. It’s an entertaining and uplifting night of theatre.”
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).
Richly evocative of Ireland in the early decades of the 20th Century, funny and moving, and featuring memorable performances, God Bless the Child will be a must see for audiences of all ages.
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