Glorious

By Anne Haverty
The New Theatre

TAKE YOUR SEATS

Glorious, is set in a farmhouse in the Wicklow hills on a summer evening in 1927. It is historical but its theme is relevant to every era, including our own. It is about the disillusion that follows when ones youthful ideals are disappointed by reality. And about the hope that persists even when you have to compromise with that bitter reality.
It features the revolutionary, Constance Markievicz. This is not the Markievicz of popular mythology. In the play she is aged, her health failing. But she is still committed to the cause she discovered years before. She has endured grief - the deaths of people she loved as fellow revolutionaries, and more lately of her beloved sister and soulmate. She has seen the birth of a nation, but one that falls far short of what she had fought for. The 1920’s in Ireland have been sad years for people like her. Now, late in the day, she sees new possibilities.
Tess is a young woman who has shared that experience. On the losing side in the Civil War and exiled in its aftermath, she is eking out a living on a chicken farm in Wicklow. Markievicz - the woman she has admired from afar and calls ‘Madame’ - pays her a visit, hoping to recruit her as a participant in the new political movement. Tess would like to abandon the life of a chicken farmer and follow Madame to Dublin where they both had their glorious years. But her life is complicated. Her childhood friend, Larry, her only friend in the locality, is also an ex-revolutionary. Larry though is on the other side. He was wounded in the Civil War, leaving him with a limp. He is resentful, bitter. He despises Madame and what she represents and is suspicious of her motives.
Together and separately, these three, Constance, Tess and Larry work through their hostilities, frustrations and hopes.

The New Theatre wish to acknowledge the The Arts Council, Dublin City Council and Dublin City of Literature UNESCO for their continued support of TNT and all New Writing play readings and productions.

Doors Open: 12:45

We ask that ticket holders present themselves in front of The New Theatre by 12:55.

Warm clothing including gloves recommended.