Dubliner brings the Big Apple to life at the Viking Theatre

ACTRESS Maeve Fitzgerald has won acclaim in such far-flung locations as Hong Kong and Shanghai while earning standing ovations in venues large and small across Ireland.

Now the Kilbarrack-born performer, who continues to live on the Northside, is returning to Clontarf’s Viking Theatre with ‘Collected Stories,’ a play by Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer, Donald Margulies.

“We are so lucky to have a venue like the Viking on our doorsteps,” Maeve says. “To have a local theatre that consistently produces such high-quality productions is invaluable to the artistic landscape of this side of the city.

“Over the past few years the Viking, under the helm of Laura and Andy, has become a firm fixture in the Northside’s cultural firmament. It is a warm and welcoming venue for both audiences and artists alike.”

‘Collected Stories,’ staged at the Viking by Then This Theatre, takes place in Greenwich Village, the bohemian capital of New York City. Maeve plays Lisa Morrison, a naïve and eager young writer who dreams of literary stardom.

Her co-star is Bríd Ní Neachtain (known for her many roles at the Abbey Theatre), who plays Ruth Steiner, the imperious fiction writer who takes Lisa on as her protégée. It is a story about two funny, intelligent, ambitious women, and about what happens when Lisa makes a choice that puts their tempestuous friendship on the line.

Maeve previously performed at the Viking Theatre in 2014, in Catherine Barry’s ‘Charlie and Me,’ directed by Peter Sheridan.

“I’m very much looking forward to playing on home turf after having had such a fantastic experience performing in ‘Charlie and Me’,” she adds.

This production of ‘Collected Stories’ began with a public reading in the Viking in 2015.

“It is thanks to the Viking audience’s positive reactions that we decided to take the play to full production,” Maeve says. “We’re really looking forward to bringing this fascinating and entertaining play home.”

Not content with simply being a performer, Maeve is also a driving force behind bringing ‘Collected Stories’ to the stage. She is co-artistic director, with Aoife Spillane-Hinks, of Then This Theatre. Aoife, originally from the United States, has lived on the Northside since 2008, and doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. She now owns her home in Whitehall.

Having first won acclaim for their adaptation of the American classic short story, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,’ the artistic directors of Then This Theatre look forward to bringing many greater American stories to Dublin audiences. Be sure not to miss the vibrant New York world of ‘Collected Stories,’ running from March 13-25 in the Viking Theatre.