'Fairytale' play for Borrisokane
This week sees the debut staging of the new play by Michael Doorley, an intriguing drama that invokes Shane MacGowan's famous 'Fairytale of New York'.
Planned to coincide with MacGowan's 60th birthday this Christmas, 'Fairytale Off New York' is a fictional recounting of an actual event that happened in Dublin.
Local native Michael Doorley, best known for writing his hometown story behind the acclaimed Martin Sheen film 'Stella Days' [2011], has chosen to premiere the play in Borrisokane.
Michael's 'Fairytale' is more than five years in the making. Having worked in banking in Dublin, Michael, who always thought of Christmas as “a strange time of year”, was drawn to a particularly peculiar story he read about Christmas 2009.
A restaurant in the city had closed down for Christmas week. On Christmas Eve, two homeless men wandering outside noticed that a fire escape door had been left open.
The men sought refuge from the driving rain and perishing cold, and were delighted to find they had the warm and comfortable restaurant all to themselves, replete with all the food and drink they could manage.
On Christmas Day, two burglars broke into the restaurant. A confrontation ensued between the four men but they eventually resolved their differences and sat down to the greatest Christmas feast they'd ever had. The robbers later made off with as much loot as they could carry, leaving the hobos to enjoy everything else; the pair stayed there for nearly a week before the restaurant reopened.
The story caught great attention thereafter; the older homeless man – who died a short time later – was interviewed by Joe Duffy.
Michael was inspired to write a play about the occurrence. He drew up four characters: the two homeless men; one of whom is a foreign national, who struggles to understand what the others are saying; and the robbers, whose target is the restaurant safe, which is controlled by a time lock.
A dark drama laced with lots of funny moments, Michael said his new work could be defined as a “tragi-comedy”. 'Fairytale' is likely to draw plenty of laughs as it explores otherwise morose themes around alcoholism, homelessness and disillusionment – much like MacGowan's Christmas hit does.
“It is a story of hope and redemption with a few twists that you might not expect,” Michael said of the play. He made contact with Shane's sister, Siobhán MacGowan, whom Michael credits as being a great help with his writing. Siobhán showed the script to her brother, and Michael said the vaunted singer was privileged by the whole concept.
“Shane MacGowan absolutely loved the script and was happy to give the play his full 'blessing',” the playwright said. “It reclaims the connection for North Tipperary where the family originated and live. It is also a fond tribute to the whole MacGowan family, and to say how proud Borrisokane is of their long-term connections with the parish.”
A Dublin-based play, 'Fairytale' has already attracted a lot of interest in the capital. The decision to stage its first showing in Borrisokane is the express wish of both the writer and the MacGowan family.
“It is a Dublin play but staging it in Borrisokane is my way of giving something back to Borrisokane,” Michael said. “I love that town; I'd do anything for it.”
The title, 'Fairytale Off New York', was thought up by Michael's son, Kevin. It takes from the oft-used term used to describe a play featuring outside its prime setting; 'Off Broadway', for example. MacGowan's 'Fairytale' song will feature in the music.
Gratefully supported by the Tipperary Creative Ireland Grant (2017), Michael's new play is produced by Philomena McKenna, of whose dedication he spoke highly.
'Fairytale Off New York' will be staged at the David Clarke Memorial Hall by the Borrisokane Players between November 30th and December 3rd. Doors open at 7.30pm and show starts 8.30pm. Booking: 086-8941626