Frank Houlihan of the Hy-Breasal Players.THE Tralee-based Hy-Breasal Players have a very busy couple of weeks in early July performing in the town.
They will play sold-out performances at the Anam Arts Festival Tralee over July 3-5, but they are also performing the weekend after – July 9th, 10, and 11th — with two short plays at The Ballymac Bar.
The two plays are a seldom seen, John B. Keane dark comedy, ‘The Pure of Heart’, and ‘The Centipede’, also a dark comedy, by Frank Houlihan.
Continued below…
‘The Pure of Heart’ sees Dave Smith back on stage, as Murt O’Brien, with John Heveran from Naas making a guest appearance, as Bartholomew Lane, and Frank Houlihan cast as the tramp, Alafonsus Fonce.
It’s the 21st of June, sometime in the 1960s, and Murt O’Brien paces the crossroads waiting for a woman. Bartholomew Lane tries to cross the same road unseen because he is after leaving a woman. Murt and Bartholomew chat, and that talk is overheard by the tramp who stops for a wash in the nearby river. The Pure of Heart is a comedy with an edge; it’s a play about morals, and the order in which they are placed.
The Centipede is a very dark comedy which was awarded First Runner-Up prize in the 2020 National Drama League of Ireland/Amateur Drama Council of Ireland playwriting competition.
Both Kay Dowling, and Gillian Wharton reprise the roles of Mary, and Nancy, that they played to acclaim in 2019. Mary, and Nancy both have a secret; is it time to speak, or not?
Both The Pure of Heart, and The Centipede, play on the stage in The Ballymac Bar, Boherbee, Tralee on July 9th, 10th, and 11th. The curtain comes up at 8pm, and comes down at 9.20pm.
Admission is just €10, and seats can be reserved by texting 0879415523.
