A Glimpse Into An Alternative Ireland is coming to An Grianán Theatre

What if there was no War of Independence in Ireland? No Civil War; no partition? What if Home Rule had passed and Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom?

These are the intriguing questions being asked in an exciting and ambitious production of The Alternative, written by Michael Patrick and Oisin Kearney, being staged by Letterkenny Music and Drama Group in An Grianán Theatre on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February at 8pm.

Laura Gleeson (Grainne) and Cathal Ó Gallchóir (Richard) in a scene from The Alternative

The play is set in 2024 on the eve of an Independence Referendum. The British Prime Minister Ursula Lysaght (Elaine Gillespie) is returning to her hometown of Dublin to convince the voters of Ireland to Remain in the UK. With the threat of chaos in the streets, and personal conflict behind the scenes, the final debate is set to begin at BBC Dublin on live television. The question being asked …? Should Ireland leave the UK?

“It’s an absolutely fantastic play written by two playwrights at the top of their game”, says director Kieran Kelly. “As soon as I read it, I knew we just had to stage it. It’s just so different to anything else I’ve ever seen. It offers us a glimpse into ‘What ifs’? and ‘Could you imagines?’ in an alternative version of our world – a parallel universe. And by doing that, it raises intriguing questions on identity and who we are as a people right now”

The play’s origins come from 2017, when Dublin’s Fishamble Theatre invited ideas for an ambitious play that would capture the mood of the country at the time. This ‘Play for Ireland’ concept received over 370 proposals, with the “The Alternative” eventually being chosen and commissioned by Fishamble, touring the country throughout September and October 2019.

Darren Winston (John) and Cathal Ó Gallchóir (Richard) 

The writers, Michael Patrick from Belfast and Oisin Kearney from County Down, stated at the time, “As Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland, we’ve always had an interest in identity and what it means to be Irish. The future of the relationship between Ireland and the United Kingdom is as uncertain as ever. In order to move forward, we need to envisage many alternatives, and open our eyes to every possibility. And it’s always fun to try to offend as many people as we can!”

This production boasts a stellar cast, familiar to many theatre goers in the North West. Opposing Prime Minister Lysaght in the debate is Irish Parliamentary Party leader Peter Keogh (Iarla McGowan). As things get heated during the debate, trying to keep everything together in the BBC Dublin studios are John Fitzgibbon (Darren Winston), Hannah Murray (Mary Lane) and producer Richard Fitzgibbon (Cathal Ó Gallchóir). Ensuring things don’t go quite according to plan, while the debate is being televised, Richard’s daughter Grainne (Laura Gleeson) suffers from ‘delusions’ – visions of alternate realties, seeing a world where ‘Ireland is already independent, but part of the north’s still in the UK!’

 Cathal Ó Gallchóir (Richard), Mary Lane (Hannah) and Darren Winston (John)

‘I’ve never read a play like it,” continues Kieran. “It’s laugh out loud one minute, genuinely shocking the next. I can’t wait to hear the reaction of the audiences. There are a lot of surprises in store too that I hope people will talk about afterwards. It’s not easy to convince people to take a chance on going to see a play they might not have heard of before, but I can honestly say, those who take that chance and come to see this show, will not be disappointed! It will be a night of total theatre!”

“The Alternative” will be staged in An Grianán Theatre for two nights only, on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th February at 8pm. Tickets are €18/€15 and can be purchased by contacting An Grianán Theatre at 0749120777 or The An Grianan website.