Cutting loose in the city
ADAPTED from the 1960 Edna O’Brien novel that scandalised the country, The Country Girls will run in the Cork Opera House from Jun 11 to 16. It’s the story of two Irish girls, Kate and Baba, who leave their 1950s convent life to find their way in the world. Directed by Mikel Murfi, the play stars Holly Browne as the poetic, romantic Kate, and Caoimhe O’Malley as the forceful Baba.
O’Brien herself adapted The Country Girls for the stage. “I have always loved theatre, it is a very different form of writing,” she says. “I didn’t want to just take scenes from the book and adapt them. In fact, I didn’t even open the book. A novel is about language and feelings, a play is about the interaction and dynamic between people. I envisaged it as a play where the world is more involved in their story; more epic, if you will.
