''The Walworth Farce'' is a 2006 play by

Enda Walsh Enda Walsh (born 1967) is an Irish playwright. Biography Enda Walsh was born in Kilbarrack, North Dublin on February 7, 1967. His father ran a furniture shop and his mother had been an actress. He is the second youngest of six children. Wal ...

Plot

A council flat on the Walworth Road,

Elephant and Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Dinny is exiled from his native

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

with his two sons Blake and Sean. Every day, holed up in the flat, they endlessly perform a play which depicts, in extremely garbled form, their last day in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, which featured the death of Dinny's mother, followed by Dinny murdering his brother and sister-in-law. Blake plays all the female roles in a variety of wigs, while Sean plays the male roles. They also perform as younger versions of themselves, in which they bully other children and kill a dog. As they repeat the play (to an audience of nobody), it becomes apparent that this is a script that is constantly revised and modified, and features many bizarre events (such as Dinny's mother and neighbour dying in an accident involving a horse and a speedboat). Sean has some memory of the real events, and tells Blake (who has no memory of them) that the boys were in reality quiet children who planned to become

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s and

bus driver A bus driver, bus operator, or bus captain is a person who drives buses for a living. Description Bus drivers must have a special license above and beyond a regular driver's licence. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus sta ...

s when they grew up, and that their depiction as young sadists is their father's invention. Only Sean is permitted to leave the flat, walking down fifteen flights of stairs to go to the local

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

supermarket for "supplies". One day he accidentally brings back the wrong shopping, and the cashier, Hayley, who has developed a connection to Sean, goes to the flat to give him his groceries. The first act ends with her entrance into the flat, as the present day and reality intrude on Dinny's recreation of an imagined past. The family struggle to integrate Hayley into the performance as she struggles to escape, and to bring Sean with her.

Performance history

''The Walworth Farce'' premiered at the Town Hall Theatre,

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

on 20 March 2006, commissioned by the

Druid Theatre Company The Druid Theatre Company, referred to as Druid, is an Irish theatre company, based in Galway, Ireland. As well as touring extensively across Ireland, the company's productions have played internationally to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the ...

. This first production starred Denis Conway as Dinny, Garrett Lombard as Blake, Aaron Monaghan as Sean and

Syan Blake Sian Samantha Blake (September 1972 – 14 or 15 December 2015), also known by her stage name Syan Blake, was a British actress, best known for playing Frankie Pierre on the British television show ''EastEnders'', appearing in 56 episodes in 1 ...

as Hayley. A 2008 run at New York’s St. Ann’s Warehouse saw Tadhg Murphy and

Mercy Ojelade Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religi ...

as Blake and Hayley, respectively, while a 2015 revival, produced by

Landmark Productions Landmark Productions is a theatre production company in Dublin, Ireland. Established in 2003 by Anne Clarke, Landmark produces plays in Ireland and tours Irish work abroad. The company has an association with a number of Irish writers including E ...

at the Olympia Theatre,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

starred real-life father and sons

Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times for ...

Domhnall Gleeson Domhnall Gleeson (; born 12 May 1983) is an Irish actor and screenwriter. He is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, with whom he has appeared in a number of films and theatre projects. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from Dublin Inst ...

and Brian Gleeson as Dinny, Blake and Sean respectively;

Leona Allen Leona is a female given name derived from the Latin word ''leo'' for "lion". People and fictional characters named Leona include: People *Leona (wrestler) (born 1980), Japanese professional wrestler *Leona Aglukkaq, Canadian politician *Leona B ...

played Hayley. In January 2023, the play was announced as the opening show for the new home of the

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They identified the need for a h ...

Highpoint Highpoint can refer to: *Highpoint, Florida, an unincorporated community near Tampa Bay *Highpoint Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Australia *Highpoint (building), an apartment building in London, United Kingdom. *Highpoint I, a set of 1930s apartment ...

in Elephant and Castle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walworth Farce, The 2006 plays Plays by Enda Walsh