Written and directed by Elaine Murphy
Starring the inimitable Anita Reeves and Hilda Fay with Kate Gilmore
"Little Gem is a huge optimistic love poem to the spirit of all women" Irish Theatre Magazine
"Blazing authenticity’" The Times
"Gurgles and giggles with life….Elaine Murphy’s delightful first play more than lives up to the title" The Guardian
Little Gem by Elaine Murphy, swept the boards during its sell out run as part of the 2008 Dublin Fringe Festival. It was also the surprise hit of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that year and the first ever Irish production to receive the prestigious Carol Tambor Award. Now Little Gem is back and this heart-warming tale of courage, comedy and romance is ready to woo audience once again.
Three generations of women tell us their story of one extraordinary year. The play unfolds in alternating monologues, as three generations of Irish women greet life’s travails with strength, humor and the occasional vodka and Diet Coke or night of abandon on the salsa dance floor.
Party girl Amber has brutal indigestion that the sambuca’s won’t shift. Lorraine loses it at work and is shipped off to see the ‘head doctor’. While Granny Kay ‘toys with the idea of Kermit’ scratching an itch that Gem no longer can.
Elaine Murphy has said that much of the inspiration for Little Gem came from her experiences and the stories of the women she met when she worked part-time in a woman’s health organisation. Her play is a tribute to the spirit of all women from the marginalised, less privileged zones of our society.
Prepare to be enthralled and entertained in this revealing, poignant and hilarious play.
Please Note:
Age Suitability: 16yrs+
