Caoimhe Farren’s acclaimed debut play will visit Belfast as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival following performances in Dún Laoghaire and Letterkenny.
A fearless new dark comedy examining addiction, trauma and sisterhood is coming to Belfast this October.
Hello Charlie, written by Derry actor and playwright Caoimhe Farren, will run at the Lyric Theatre from 7–18 October as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival.
The production opens at the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire on 16 September before travelling to An Grianán Theatre in Letterkenny on 25 and 26 September.
Farren will take the role of Maeve McGinty, appearing alongside Clare Monnelly as her sister Kate, Vincent Higgins as their father Finn and Callum Payne as Alan Beasley.
A darkly funny story of addiction and survival
Hello Charlie follows sisters Maeve and Kate, who have attempted to leave a difficult past in Derry behind and begin new lives in London.
While Kate fights to prevent history from repeating itself, Maeve turns increasingly to alcohol. As her behaviour becomes more chaotic, she shifts responsibility onto “Charlie” — the drunken alter ego she blames for the choices she makes.
Blending pitch-black humour with emotional honesty, the play explores the realities of addiction without losing sight of the resilience, complexity and distinctively dark wit found across the north of Ireland.
The production is co-directed by Gina Donnelly and Seón Simpson and brings together theatre companies and venues from across the island of Ireland.
It is presented as a cross-border co-production between SkelpieLimmer Productions, Front & Centre and An Grianán Theatre, in association with Pavilion Theatre, Fishamble: The New Play Company and Belfast’s Lyric Theatre. Gallagher Films is also supporting the production.
Five years in the making
Hello Charlie is Farren’s debut play and has been developed over five years, including through the Lyric Theatre’s New Playwrights programme.
It also received support from the Pavilion Theatre Patron Donation Award and Fishamble’s New Play Clinic.
Even before reaching the stage, the script attracted considerable recognition. It was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, became a finalist for the inaugural Victoria Wood Playwriting Prize for Comedy and placed within the top one per cent of submissions to the BBC Writers Open Call.
Farren said she was thrilled to finally bring the production to audiences across Ireland after five years of development.
The writer described the collection of producers, directors, theatres and organisations supporting the play as a “dream team”, adding: “It takes a village to raise a play.”
Directors Gina Donnelly and Seón Simpson said the script stood out for its ability to confront a serious cultural issue through comedy.
They said: “Hello Charlie is unique in how it uses humour not to judge that problem, but to lure an audience into confronting it through humour — which is the Irish way.”
Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee has described the work as “funny, fearless and thought-provoking”, calling Farren “a remarkable new voice”.
Actress Róisín Gallagher, known for The Dry, praised the play as sharply witty, heartbreakingly honest and “not to be missed”.
Cast and creative team
Derry-born Caoimhe Farren’s screen credits include Blue Lights, Derry Girls, The Woman in the Wall, Crá, Hope Street and This Way Up. She is also developing a television comedy-drama with Fine Point Films.
Clare Monnelly is known for playing Fidelma in Moone Boy and Mary in Nowhere Fast, while her stage career has included work with Druid, the Abbey Theatre and the Gate Theatre.
County Antrim actor and writer Vincent Higgins has appeared in numerous productions at the Lyric Theatre, Abbey Theatre, Tinderbox and Kabosh.
Callum Payne, originally from Merseyside and now based in Ireland, has worked with the Lyric Theatre, Playhouse Derry and the BBC. His recent credits include Alice in Wonderland at Belfast’s Grand Opera House.
The wider creative team includes lighting designer Jonathan M Daley, set designer Sinéad Owens, dramaturg Karis Kelly, intimacy coordinator Paula O’Reilly and company stage manager Jonathan Rainey Reid.
Hello Charlie tour dates
Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire
Wednesday 16 September
Book tickets through the Pavilion Theatre
An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny
Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September
Book tickets through An Grianán Theatre
Lyric Theatre, Belfast
Wednesday 7–Sunday 18 October
Part of the Belfast International Arts Festival
Book tickets through the Lyric Theatre
Hello Charlie has received support from Belfast City Council and Queen’s University Belfast.
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