A Dickens inspired tale of grief
Irene Kelleher was sat on a long bus journey recently when she was sent a link to a viral video.
Little did she know then, that this would inspire her to write a show that has since gone on to receive rave reviews, and enjoyed a three week run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The plot focuses on Emily. Shrouded in her wedding dress, for the past five months she has been a social media sensation. Some say she’s a deranged lunatic, many say she just needs help and to others she’s a hero. Taking Dickens’ extraordinary Miss Havisham in to the era of social media with its artificial gloss and filtered reality, this is one woman who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is – the grit, the grime and stench of rotting flowers.
Irene told The Sligo Champion: “I was on a long bus journey once while I was writing another play. I got sent a video of a bride on the altar on her wedding day having a breakdown. It was set to a pop theme. That was the first thing that hit me, the way social media takes someone’s pain and makes it entertainment. I looked at all the comments calling her crazy, and people saying he must have cheated and I was thinking that there’s obviously some deep rooted trauma.
“One comment compared her to Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. I read the book again. I was always obsessed with Miss Havisham. Still at this point I didn’t think of doing anything with this. When I read the book again I realised that Miss Havisham doesn’t feature in the book that much. I felt that she represents grief. I was on tour with another play and my father died so grief was raw for me and I just resonated with her.”
The thoughts of this character, and how she could portray her was keeping Irene awake at night to such an extent that she had to put her other play aside in order to write this one. And what a fine decision that turned out to be.
“We’ve had a fantastic response. I never expected it. It premièred in Cork in a penthouse suite at the Midsummer Festival. After that we brought it to Edinburgh for the fringe festival and had the full run for three weeks. Then we brought it back to Cork, and then a three week run in Bewley’s Theatre in Dublin. It’s got great reviews, I’ve been thrilled,” Irene added.
It’s a one woman show, which is nothing new for Irene, but she does admit that it can sometimes be lonely on stage.
“It’s kind of lonely. It’s my third one, the second I’ve written myself. I’m used to it now. But I love when I get to work with other actors. It doesn’t feel like a one woman show because of the team working on it, always someone with you. The next one I’m doing will definitely be with other actors!”
This Thursday (February 13th), Irene brings ‘Gone Full Havisham’ to Hawk’s Well Theatre. She previously brought ‘Mary and Me’ to the theatre that she describes as ‘ beautiful’. Tickets, priced €17/15 conc. (plus €1 booking fee) are available from www.hawkswell.com or 0719161518.