ISLA

Four Rivers Theatre along with our partners Verdant Productions and the Civic Theatre proudly present Isla by Tim Price at this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival. To set the scene, let us turn to journalist Ciara Murphy and her review of the play in The Irish Times: ‘The play begins with a familiar vista: it is March 2020, and the Covid-19 pandemic has caused Ireland to go into lockdown. As Roger (Mark Lambert) says, sure it will only last three weeks. Amid this global crisis, and concerned for her elderly father, Erin (Tina Kellegher) decides to buy him a virtual assistant for company. This device, named Isla (voiced by Sarah Madigan), helps a reluctant Roger to navigate this changing world and to try to hold back the tide of lockdown loneliness. Although he resists her help at first, Roger comes to rely on Isla, not realising that this will become a life-changing relationship.’

The play opened at the Civic on September 30th, with previews September 28th and 29th and continued Oct 3rd-7th.

The production then moved to Garter Lane Theatre in Waterford on October 12th and 13th.

Mark Lambert had a leading role in the recent Four Rivers’ production, Amongst Men. Tina Kellegher shot to fame as Sharon Curley in the Stephen Frears directed movie The Snapper. Isla is directed by Davey Kelleher.

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