'˜Myra' returns to Derry before embarking on Irish tour

‘Myra’s Story’ is a new adaptation of the smash hit play ‘Maire A Woman Of Derry,’ that tells the story of an alcoholic woman living rough on the streets, but this time, the Dublin streets. Speaking to the ‘Journal’ ahead of the Forum debut, writer Brian Foster said that after 12 years of ‘Maire’ he knew he couldn’t continue with the same play.

“In 2013 Carmel McCafferty who played Maire retired from the role, but by then I knew I couldn’t keep doing the same play, no matter how much people loved it.

“‘Myra’ still contains about 80% of the old play. It’s allowed me to bring a lot of new stuff into it, while keeping the parts that people wanted to see,” said Brian.

Although ‘Maire’ is a firm favourite, the adaptation, Myra’s Story has never had a professional Irish run. But this year, thanks to the Millennium Forum, Brian will take ‘Myra’s Story’ on a full Irish tour, which includes several Dublin dates.

Brian added that the subject matter of the play, homelessness and alcoholism, are “so relevant in this modern age.” He went on: “I’ve said from the beginning that although it was set in Derry, and now Dublin, it had a universal theme to it. It seems to be a growing epidemic, and what my play does is shine a light on the human aspect. Everyone that you see homeless, they all have a story to tell, something happened along the way, and thgat’s what I wanted to do when I wrote the play. The play is hugely funny, but it’s not odd in such a tragic story when you’re tracing the history of someone. There’s a lot of comedy in the play - you’re laughing one minute and crying the next minute. It’s a real rollercoaster of emotions.”

Myra’s Story runs in Millennium Forum from Thursday, October 4 to Saturday, October 6.