Listowel man’s ‘Sanctuary’ is attracting rave reviews

A LISTOWEL playwright is celebrating this week after a feature film, adapted from his own stage play, opened to rave reviews in a number of cinemas across Ireland, including Tralee.

‘Sanctuary’, whose screenplay was written by North Kerry’s Christian O’ Reilly and is set in the world of people with intellectual diabilities, tells the story of Larry and Sophie.

Larry, who has Down Syndrome and Sophie who has severe epilepsy, are attracted to each other and through the help of a care worker called Tom, they sneak to a hotel room during a supervised trip to the cinema.

Through the story of Larry and Sophie, the film looks to answer questions such ‘what do they do once they get to this hotel room? Are they aware that they are about to break the law in Ireland?’

“Audiences to date empathise with the characters and they leave the cinema feeling that they have been introduced to a world most of us know very little about,” said the team behind the film.

“Never before has such a strong cast of intellectually disabled actors been drawn together for a feature film. The cast have worked together for many years and are experienced actors and performers, all members of the award-winning Blue Teapot Theatre Company based in Galway,” they finished.

The film is currently playing in Tralee Omniplex for the remainder of this week and is playing in cinemas in Dublin, Galway, Cork and Sligo.

Having recently opened in Tralee and cinemas across Ireland, Sanctuary is getting critics talking.