DIRECTED by Padraic McIntyre, ‘Good Evening Mr Collins’, a play by Mill Productions, features Darren Killeen as Michael Collins and Matthew O’Brien as Eamon de Valera in a story of the famous ‘Big Fellow’ after the Rising.
Written by Tom MacIntyre, the work also sees Aoibhinn Finnegan, Sharon McCoy and Claire O’Donovan head up a large ensemble cast.
In the years following the 1916 Rising, Michael Collins rose through the Republican ranks to become the mastermind of the War of Independence and after the treaty, a leader in a country divided by civil war.
‘Good Evening Mr Collins’ is a light-hearted yet truthful look at the life of a young man who lived in very turbulent times. Through music, comedy and drama, it traces his life, loves and relationships in the final years of his life until his death at Beal na mBlath in 1922.
Collins and De Valera’s relationship is one of the most open to speculation, with the ‘what ifs’ still resonating today. This, along with the numerous women in his life, has allowed playwright Tom MacIntyre to explore Collins’ intimate relationships with all of these. This he does with no small measure of humour and daring.
Directed by Padraic McIntyre and produced by Mill Productions, this play marks the 10th anniversary of the Mill Theatre which opened in May 2006 and is the first performance of ‘Good Evening Mr Collins’ since 1995 when it ran in the Peacock Theatre.
It’s on in the dlr Mill Theatre Dundrum from Wednesday, May 11 to Saturday 14.
Born in Cavan in 1931, Tom MacIntyre is a dual-language writer, and his poetry collections include ‘Blood Relations: Versions of Gaelic Poems of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries’ and ‘I Bailed Out at Ardee’.
Born in Bailieboro, County Cavan, Padraic McIntyre is an actor and playwright and a founder member and Artistic Director of the Livin’ Dred Theatre Company.
Darren Killeen’s acting credits include ‘Niall’ in Magamedia’s six-part Irish language musical drama series for TG4 ‘Eipic’. His theatre credits include ‘Jimmy’ in Maylin Productions’ ‘Jesus Christ, it’s Jesus’ which ran at Dublin’s New Theatre.