Mayo footballing comedy at the Town Hall Theatre

Date Published: 21-Jun-2012

Galway based Truman Town Theatre return to the city’s Town Hall Theatre from Tuesday next, June 26-30 with their play, Shortcut to Hallelujah.

This comic drama, by Ballinrobe writer Mick Donnellan, is set during the run up to the All-Ireland Football final. Mayo are playing Kerry and the clientele of Quinn’s Bar, Ballinrobe, are certain the Sam Maguire is coming West at last. But rumours begin to surface of a curse on the team. The last time Mayo won the celebrations were so raucous that they upset a Traveller’s funeral and it was decreed that they would never win another All-Ireland again until everyone on that team was dead.

It’s now 60 years later and only one player remains alive. His name is Christy Hession and his health “isn’t great". All eager ears are on the radio as everyone listens to the death notices in the hope that the curse might be lifted before the upcoming game!

Meanwhile, young Chris McGuire is in a bitter dispute with local land-grabber, Black Tom Tully over an incident with McGuire’s father some years before. A land deal went wrong when Tully accused Old McGuire of refusing to buy his round of brandy and the two men became sworn enemies. Chris has inherited the quarrel and is adamant that Tom Tully won’t get a "blade of grass…"

Eimear, played by Kate McCarthy, is Chris’s tragic fiancé. Despite her best efforts, she can’t reconcile herself to a life in Ballinrobe, but her attempts to leave always prove more difficult than she imagined.

Events reach a climax as the day of the big match arrives and nobody can say for certain what’s going to happen. But the promise is, it won’t be dull.

Truman Town Theatre and its founder Michael Donnellan, have been building up a steady following since the company staged his first play, Sunday Morning Coming Down, in April of last year at the Town Hall Theatre studio.

The company subsequently toured the show to venues around Ireland and followed it up with Shortcut to Hallelujah, which ran last August in the Town Hall Studio. They then staged another of Michael’s plays, Gunmetal Grey, at the city’s Theatre Festival in October. Now they are returning to the Town Hall main stage with their second production.

 Shortcut to Hallelujah will run for five nights at the Town Hall Theatre from June 26 to 20. Doors open 7.30 Bookings at tht.ie, at 091-569777 or at the venue.