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Two people in front of a dark background. A person with dark hair in a green tshirt in a wheelchair looks at a person beside them, in a dark shirt, as they point off to the side.

Theatre: A Personal Prism at Town Hall Theatre Galway

26 - 27 Nov 2024

Town Hall Theatre, 1 Courthouse Square, Galway



“When you look at me, what do you see? Do you see the real me, or do you see my disability?”

David Joyce from County Galway is a vital and striking new voice in the Irish theatre. An MA graduate of Drama and Theatre Studies at the University of Galway, he has written a captivating and humorous play, inspired by his own lived experience as a young Irish adult with a disability.

Lee Hanley is a regular guy with a disability living in a fictional West of Ireland town. Just out of college, he is job-hunting and hopes to write poetry, enjoy a social life – ordinary, everyday things. But in Lee’s world, nothing is ever simple. He feels trapped within the town and within himself and struggles with mental health and the external barriers that are constantly put in his way. Without any say, he is suddenly assigned a personal assistant who seems unsuited…

An unflinching, universal, truthful tale of friendship, A Personal Prism will have its world premiere at the Black Box Theatre on 26 November 2024, and then transfer to Portumna and Tuam.

The ensemble includes Galway actors Johanne Webb, Gerard Howard, Eimear Finan, and Matthew Nolan, an Irish actor with a disability living in London, whose recent work includes Doctors and 1797. The play is directed by highly-regarded writer-director Declan Gorman whose previous Town Hall presentations include The Big Fellow, The Green Fool, and The Dubliners Dilemma.

Access
This production of A Personal Prism is accessible to persons with or without a disability. There will be a captioned performance Wednesday 27 November, audio description is available, as well as additional seating spaces for wheelchair users and their companions.

A touch tour of the stage takes place 6.45 – 7.15 pm before the performance on Wednesday 27 November at 8pm. The touch tour provides context about the show to allow people who are blind and people who have a visual impairment to familiarise themselves with the design of the space, costumes and props ahead of the show itself. It can also benefit neurodivergent patrons. This event is free but booking is essential via THT box office, by calling 091 569 777 or by visiting tht.ie.

Please note this production touches upon mental health matters, with references to self-harm – but no distressing action is shown. The team has a community and disability liaison officer who is on standby in the unlikely event of any distress.

In association with Town Hall Theatre. Photos by Anita Murphy.

A Personal Prism runs 26 and 27 November in Town Hall Theatre Galway.

Lee and Michael in A Personal Prism, running 26 and 27 November in Town Hall Theatre Galway. Photo by Anita Murphy.

David Joyce in Personal Prism, runs 26 and 27 November in Town Hall Theatre Galway. Photo by Anita Murphy.


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Galway
Personal Prism
Theatre
Town Hall Theatre