Amongst Men

A new play by Eoghan Rua Finn

It is 1969 Seán Walsh, a primary school teacher, plans to commemorate the revolutionary period in Wexford with his sixth class pupils. His mother was a Cumann na mBan member and has first hand knowledge of life during the wars. Knowledge she prefers to remain secret. When tragedy strikes Seán’s attention turns to uncovering his mother’s secrets, a mission that puts him in conflict with local political and religious leaders, and puts his job, identity and life in jeopardy.

Director and Set Design: Deirdre Dwyer
Costume: Frances White
Lighting: Colin Doran
Dramaturg: Louise Stephens

The Genesis of Amongst Men

Eoghan Rua Finn was one of nine playwrights mentored by the Wexford Playwright Studio hosted and funded by Wexford Arts Centre and Wexford County Council in conjunction with Four Rivers and with initial input from authors, Billy Roche and Deirdre Kinahan and dramaturg, Thomas Conway.

Subsequently all these plays received rehearsed reading in March 2021 directed by Ben Barnes. Out of this collaboration the Wexford County Council in partnership with Wexford Arts Centre announced a Playwright Commission Award and a €10,000 bursary to research and develop- a new theatre work focusing on commemorating the period between 1916-1923 as part of WCC’s Decade of Centenaries Programme (2012-2023).

This resulted in a number of very strong submissions out of which, Amongst Men was selected. The Wexford County Council award of €10,000 to the writer and a further, €15,000 towards production costs is a significant investment in the theatre art form on behalf of the local authority.

Four Rivers in conjunction with Wexford Arts Centre undertook to produce the work which has been through a number of mentored drafts with its dramaturg, Louise Stephens. Finally after careful curation Four Rivers will present the play to audiences this coming Easter at WAC in a production directed by Waterford director and designer, Deirdre Dwyer.

The collaboration between the Wexford County Council, Wexford Arts Centre and Four Rivers is an exemplary initiative pointing to the time, care and resources required to bring a new play to the stage. We hope you enjoy the fruits of that labour.

Booking Links

Theatre Royal Waterford
April 19 -20
Watergate Kilkenny
April 22

Upcoming Productions

Small Things Like These

‘This production plays to the versatility in Claire Keegan’s language, with which she fills her simple tale with maximum drama.’ Jackie Hayden.

Four Rivers is delighted to once again bring to the stage in December and January Claire Keegan’s Booker Prize-nominated novel Small Things Like These. It has been described as ‘an unforgettable story of hope and heroism. As last time, the role of storyteller goes to actor Andrew Bennett (Seán in the Oscar-nominated The Quiet Girl/ An Cailín Ciúin) with an original score written and performed by singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy (A Woman’s Heart).

Described as ‘resonant and deeply moving’ by Hilary Mantel, Small Things Like These is set in an Irish rural town in the 1980s in the run up to Christmas: as coal merchant Bill Furlong does his rounds, he discovers a girl locked away in terrible conditions in the local convent. Unlike the silent majority, he decides to do something about it.

This staged reading of Small Things Like These is performed masterly by Andrew Bennett. One of the finest actors of his generation, Andrew recently completed Small Town, Big Story, a new series for Sky Originals, and Blackshore for the BBC. Eleanor McEvoy performs original music she composed for Small Things Like These. Her
critically acclaimed canon of work spans sixteen albums, with numerous cover versions of her songs by Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, Phil Coulter, Eliza Carthy, Jack L, and Saint Sister.

Presented by Four Rivers, Small Things Like These is directed by former Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre, Ben Barnes. Recent directing credits include The Last Stand (Four Rivers), Madama Butterfly (INO), Lights Out (Four Rivers) and Jim Nolan’s new play Castel Gandolfo (Four Rivers).

Performance dates:
Dec 12 – 14 at Wexford Arts Centre
Dec 17 – 18 at Pavilion, Dun Laoghaire
Dec 20 – 21 at Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London
Jan 10 at Mermaid, Bray
Jan 16 -17 at Garter Lane, Waterford