Small Things Like These


Small Things Like These, an unforgettable story of hope and heroism, is brought to the stage with actor Andrew Bennett (Seán in the Oscar-nominated The Quiet Girl / An Cailín Ciúin) accompanied by new music from singer and musician Eleanor McEvoy (A Woman’s Heart). Small Things Like These, a Booker Prize nominated novel, will be performed in Wexford, New Ross, Dun Laoghaire and Bray this December.

Claire Keegan’s Booker Prize-nominated novel (“Resonant and deeply moving”, Hilary Mantel) is set in a Co. Wexford 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 by Andrew Bennett. One of the finest actors of his generation, Andrew has completed a new series for Sky Originals, Small Town Big Story, and Blackshore for the BBC.

Eleanor McEvoy will perform original music composed for Small Things Like These. Eleanor’s 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. (Photo from Förderkreis Kultur.)

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 in 2024 he will direct Castel Gandolfo, his sixth collaboration with the writer, Jim Nolan. Ben is Artistic Director of Four Rivers.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Reader: Andrew Bennett
Music: Eleanor Mc Evoy
Director: Ben Barnes
Sound:  Bryan Steacy
Lighting: Mark Redmond
Stage Manager: Saoirse Wadding Hayes

For Four Rivers
Artistic Director: Ben Barnes
Producer: Heather Hadrill
Dramaturg: Louise Stephens
Construction Manager: Mark Redmond
Company Stage Manager: Clare Smith
Marketing: Tom Mooney
Social Media: Tianna Moore
Graphics: Elishka Lane Barnes

An unforgettable and beautifully written story of hope, quiet heroism and tenderness from the author of Foster, STLT is described by The Guardian as sharing “its properties with the very best of her stories”.
“A haunting and hopeful masterpiece” – Sinead Gleeson
“Astonishing” – Colm Tóibín
“Resonant and deeply moving” – Hilary Mantel

Performance dates:
Wexford Arts Centre: December 14|15|16
St Michael’s Theatre, New Ross: December 17
The Pavilion, Dun Laoghaire: December 19
The Mermaid, Bray: December 20.

Booking Links

Wexford Arts Centre
14, 15, 16 December, 2023
Tickets
St Michael’s Theatre, New Ross
17 December, 2023
Tickets
The Pavilion, Dun Laoghaire
19 December, 2023
Tickets
The Mermaid, Bray
20 December, 2023
Tickets

Upcoming Productions

Carrie Crowley to star in new Jim Nolan play

Booking has now opened for the premiere in October of Four Rivers’ Castel Gandolfo by Jim Nolan (Moonshine, The Salvage Shop) at Garter Lane Arts Centre. It is directed by Ben Barnes (Artistic Director of Four Rivers).
The play revolves around the cataclysmic exposure of a Waterford family’s deepest and most secret wounds and features Carrie Crowley, Michael Power, Garrett Lombard, Sarah Madigan and Elishka Lane.
Set over two days in the backyard of the eponymous Castel Gandolfo, a decaying terraced house in Waterford’s inner city, Stephen Callaghan is dying and the frail threads that bind his family are fast unravelling. His daughter, Rose, is about to lose her job; his son, Tony, is losing the race to restore his father’s vintage car and his granddaughter, Stella, is about to swap a law degree for a start in the local chipper. As if that wasn’t enough, Stephen’s ex-wife, the formidable Dolly, is back in town. The shock return of another exile threatens to reveal the truth behind a thirty-year-old façade.
The play will preview at Garter Lane on Thursday, October 3rd and open on Friday, October 4th, running until Saturday October 19th.

Castel Gandolfo by Jim Nolan

Last November, a reading of Jim Nolan’s new play, Castel Gandolfo was held at the National Opera House. The work has gone through several drafts and the reading was held to identify any areas that need further tweaking ahead of the production of the play which will be staged in October at Garter Lane Waterford. Ben Barnes will direct with designs by Dermot Quinn (set), John Comiskey (lighting), Jeni Roddy (costume) and Jamie Beamish (sound). Both Jim Nolan and Ben Barnes were in attendance at the reading and the reading cast were – Anna Healy, Brian Doherty, Anthony Brophy, Catherine Walker and Elishka Lane. The cast of Carrie Crowley, Michael Power, Garrett Lombard, Sarah Madigan and Elishka Lane are busy rehearsing.