Hit play comes to Dún Laoghaire

BESTSELLING Irish-American author, Mary Lou Quinlan, is bringing her hit one-woman play, ‘The God Box: A Daughter’s Story’, to the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire this Sunday, October 30, with proceeds going to local hospice groups.

Based on her powerful New York Times bestselling memoir of the same name, the emotional play shares Mary Lou’s personal story of a family in love, in loss and in triumph. 

The Dún Laoghaire show marks the end of a nationwide tour of this inspiring play, with all proceeds to benefit local hospice groups through the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF), a national charity striving for best care at end of life for all which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. 

 Audrey Houlihan, CEO of Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services, urged people to attend this emotional and thought provoking play, which will support local hospice services.

“It’s wonderful that Mary Lou would bring this amazing play to Ireland,” she said. “We are so grateful that she has such a commitment to hospice and its work and that it helped her and her family as it did. It greatly inspires us in our work as a result.”

This comic and heart-wrenching play tells how, after her mother’s death, Mary Lou discovered ‘God Boxes’, small containers stuffed with hundreds of tiny notes, sharing her innermost thoughts. They revealed her mother’s concerns about her kids’ demanding careers; private wishes for people she’d never even met; and concerns about her own health and everything in between.

The poignant notes, scribbled in supermarket queues, restaurants and at the kitchen table, were her mother’s way of releasing life’s worries and hopes. The discovery of the boxes triggered Mary Lou’s own unravelling, a journey to confront the greatest human challenge – learning to let go. 

Co-written with Martha Wollner, an award-winning actor/playwright and director of NYC’s LAByrinth Theatre, the play has been presented in theatres across the US, including Off-Broadway. In 2014, it enjoyed a 24-night run to rave reviews at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  

Quinlan has donated all proceeds to hospice, cancer care and education. To date, she has raised nearly $400,000.

Mary Lou Quinlan is a hugely successful entrepreneur and is widely known in the US for her marketing company, Just Ask a Woman. She has advised over 100 blue chip companies on marketing to women and was formerly CEO of a large New York based ad agency. She was recently named as one of Irish America Magazine’s ‘Power 50 Women’.

She has written four books and numerous national magazine articles in the US where she has addressed hundreds of conferences on women’s issues. 

Mary Lou Quinlan said: “I am honoured and delighted that people in Dún Laoghaire and Dublin will have the chance of seeing my one-woman show. The relationship between a mother and daughter is a unique one and yet I’ve discovered those bonds and memories are powerful the world over, wherever you live. I am particularly delighted that this play will benefit local hospice groups who do amazing work helping seriously ill people near end of life.” 

Bookings are now being taken for ‘The God Box: A Daughter’s Story’ at the Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire, on Sunday October 30, at 8pm. Visit www.paviliontheatre.ie or phone (01) 2312929.

www.thegodboxproject.com