Gary Lydon in Opera House debut

THE acclaimed Wexford actor Gary Lydon is making his National Opera House debut this week in ‘ Black Lead’ a new two-act play by local playwright Eamonn Colfer.

It’s the first time in many years that Lydon is back on stage in his home town where one of his earliest theatrical appearances was in playwright Billy Roche’s ‘A Handful of Stars’ alongside the talented actor John Crosbie who stars with him in the production.

Students from Wexford CBS secondary school and St. Peter’s College, the actor’s alma mater, will attend special matinee performances of the play which runs in the Jerome Hynes Theatre from Thursday, February 7 to Sunday, February 10 at 8 p.m each night along with a preview on Wednesday, February 6 and a matinee on Sunday, February 10 at 3 p.m. ‘It’s great to be back in Wexford, appearing in a play that is set in the town. It’s my first time on stage in the new National Opera House, in the Jerome Hynes Theatre, and the first time that I’ve worked with Eamonn’, said Lydon.

‘I’m enjoying the opportunity to connect back with Wexford and to re-connect with John Crosbie. I was last on stage with him in a Billy Roche playmany years ago’.

‘It’s a really interesting play about an historical Wexford figure and there is great comedy and Wexford humour in it. The character of Black Lead is very visually theatrical. My character is more talkative. It is very exciting and great fun’.

Black Lead was inspired by a mysterious real-life character who roamed the back roads,towns and fairs of Wexford for about 30 years after the First World War.

According to the historian Nicky Furlong in his book Wexford in the Rare Old Times, he had an immense beard and covered himself, his clothes and bag in the substance that gave him his name. No-one ever knew his name or identity.

Colfer’s work is an imagining of what might have happened to any individual who trespassed on his desire for privacy and tells of a formative encounter between him and J, another itinerant. The role of J is played by Lydon who played Patrick in The Clinic for many years and has appeared in many Irish films including The Guard and Calvary as well as Warhorse, directed by Stephen Spielberg. Black Lead is played by John Crosbie, an award-winning actor who has been in hundreds of plays and won several prizes on the All-Ireland circuit.