“Fluid, funny and heartfelt, Brendan is Ronan Noone’s most expertly crafted play yet. And that’s saying something.”
–The Boston Globe
The Story
A recent Irish immigrant, Brendan now calls America home. He misses his family but works hard to fit into his adopted country and find love and meaning in his new life.
But his “two pints Wednesday” lifestyle goes topsy-turvy when he receives a letter from home. Suddenly, the ghost of his mother starts following him around. Of course, she has plenty to say about his friends, his shameful lifestyle and how worried she is about him learning to drive on the other side of the road.
This is a funny, evocative and wonderfully touching play about love, loss and coming to terms with leaving the past behind you.
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Title of work: Brendan
Published by: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Buy it here
Nice Things People Said
“Ronan Noone crafts a gentle,
sweet-natured play… the work should prove attractive to audiences and theatres looking for a play that goes straight to the heart of Eire while stirring American immigrant emotions too.”
— Variety
“Brendan isn’t about harrowing plots or big revelations. It’s about Brendan, whom with all his flaws the audience comes to care about deeply.”
—Boston Herald
“…lively and loving… as warm and sweet as a hot fudge sundae…very funny.”
— Boston Phoenix
“Fluid, funny and heartfelt, Brendan is Ronan Noone’s most expertly crafted play yet. And that’s saying something.”
— The Boston Globe
Boston Irish Tourism Association
In just a few years, Irish playwright Ronán Noone has quickly drawn acclaim in international theatre circles for his trilogy of plays about Ireland, known as the Baile plays. Now Noone has turned his attention to an American Trilogy that reflects an outsider’s perspective on the US.
The first two works in the trilogy are receiving their world-premier production in Boston this season by the Huntington Theatre Company, the city’s largest and most renowned theater group.
The Huntington opened its fall season with Noone’s play, The Atheist, staring Campbell Scott, followed by Brendan, a comedy about an Irish immigrant living in America. Both plays are directed by Justin Waldman.
Brendan explores the funny and touching experiences of a recent Irish immigrant as he battles homesickness while looking for love and meaning in his adopted country. On the verge of gaining citizenship, a letter from home turns his life upside down, forcing him to realize he hasn’t fully broken free of old memories while he is busy making new ones.
Boston Globe theater critic Louise Kennedy wrote, “Fluid, funny, and heartfelt, Brendan is Ronan Noone’s most expertly crafted play yet. And that’s saying something.”
View original article here