Middle-aged pair dance their way to happiness in Swing

Swing, a two-hander from Dublin’s Fishamble Theatre will be staged at the Town Hall Theatre on Friday, April 1.

The play, starring Arthur Riordan and Gene Rooney, explores the lives of Joe and May –  a middle-aged pair who meet at a Dublin dance class and who are offered a second chance of happiness.

Joe used to run the family printing business, but it has been destroyed by new technology and online development. His wife has divorced him and his two sons, who live elsewhere, are busy with their own lives. He, meanwhile, is training in horticulture as he tries to re-invent himself. He’s also learning to lindy-hop at the dancehall across the road.

That’s where he meets May, a graphic designer who could have been an artist, but who failed to follow her dream. She lives with a boyfriend who works away from home regularly and her life is comfortable, if boring.

Their lives change when they meet each other at their dance classes.

All the action in Swing takes place on the dance floor and music is central to the show. The setting allows Arthur Riordan and Gene Rooney to breathe life into other members of their dancing group, including their teachers and the class divas.

Swing, which is written by Steve Blount, Peter Daly, Gavin Kostick and Janet Moran, and directed by Peter Daly, won the Bewley’s Little Gem Award at the 2013 Dublin Fringe Festival and was a hit at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Since then it has toured to New York, Paris, Edinburgh and New Zealand and is visiting Galway on April 1 as part of a national tour.

■ Tickets are €18/15 from the box office, online at tht.ie or by phoning 091-569777.