Last Prime Minister of Ireland to be shown in Derry theatre

‘Last Prime Minister of Ireland’ has been created by Slodar, a Leitrim-based theatre company and will come to Derry for the penultimate showing of the 13-show tour.

Shelia O’Keeffe, who plays David Lloyd George’s housekeeper Lallie, spoke to the ‘Journal’ about the upcoming trip to Derry.

She said: “The theme of the play covers issues north and south of the border so we were keen to give a taste of it to northern audiences. We had a great reception in the Ardhowen Theatre in Enniskillen and now we’re going to the Waterside Theatre before we finish up in Belfast. We’ve been in about ten different theatres and we’ve about three more to go.

"We’ve been really pleased with the overall reaction to the play so far. There’s a lot of tension in the play but there’s also a lot of comedy. It’s a really historical drama, which is centred around the story of David Lloyd George, who was the Last Prime Minister of Ireland. It’s really about the family dynamic and they provide most of the intrigue. Nothing is as it seems and there’s a lot of twists and turns in it. There’s a lot of surprises and lots of intakes of breath for the audience. On the surface it might seem like a very heavy subject but the writer, Gerry Farren who also plays Lloyd George, did a great job writing it.

"The play takes place on the morning of Lloyd George’s wife’s funeral in January 1941. He was keeping two families going – he had his family in Wales and then he had another family in London. He was a very successful politician in many ways and brought many great reforms but he also had this very questionable private life. It’s dealt with very sensitively in the play. He returns to Wales on the morning of his wife’s funeral and he’s forced to confront this past political and personal behaviour. In his dealings with Ireland, he is accused of deceiving both the unionist and nationalist communities but it’s the betrayal of his family and his native Wales that torture the former Prime Minister most.

"Some of the reactions to the play have been great so far. One person said he was ‘blown away’ by the text and said the performance was outstanding.

"You definitely don’t need to know anything about Lloyd George for coming to the play. I’m in the play and I knew nothing at all about him before we started! But I think the gift of this play is that it’s a soft, light way of finding out history while being entertained at the same time. There’s moments of huge laughter, there’s moments of great sadness, there’s surprise, it’s got all the lovely theatre elements as well as teaching you a great bit of history that you don’t need to know anything about to enjoy.”

The play will be shown in the Waterside Theatre on Saturday, May 27 at 8pm. To book tickets for the play or for more information, visit www.watersidetheatreni.com/event/view/the-last-prime-minister-of-ireland