Gay barber living on the fringes of Kilkish

A new arrival to a small town awakens a closeted 65-year-old, writes Colette Sheridan.

A GAY-THEMED play, set in a small Irish seaside town, opens at the Lime Tree Theatre as part of Limerick’s City of Culture. The Bachelor of Kilkish, written by Myles Breen, of Bottom Dog Theatre Company, is part of the ‘Made in Limerick’ strand of the programme. It is directed by fellow Bottom Dog founder, Liam O’Brien.

Breen, who is also an actor and director, says that unlike the commissioned work he writes for Limerick Youth Theatre, The Bachelor of Kilkish is personal.

When Limerick City of Culture said it would support Bottom Dog, Breen finished the play. “I had been putting it on the long-finger, because I was thinking I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on something that wouldn’t have a hope of getting staged.

“I knew this play had a cast of six and a naturalistic setting. Limerick City of Culture gave us €60,000 to produce the play. That is great, because it means there’s money to pay me and the cast. We’re mostly a self-financed company. To have the comfort of a decent grant takes the pressure off,” he says.

The Bachelor of Kilkish deals with how life has changed for gay men in Ireland and is partly a follow-on from his one-man show, Language Unbecoming for a Lady. That play explored the life of a 50-year-old gay drag artist.

The Bachelor of Kilkish is about a 65-year-old barber (played by Brendan Conroy) who is in the closet. He lives in Kilkish, an imaginary town inspired by Kilkee and Lahinch, where Breen spent family summer holidays.

“What intrigued me is the way a small seaside town comes alive during the summer, but reverts to a quiet, tight community in the winter, where everyone knows everything about each other, but says nothing.

“The Bachelor of Kilkish is a like a classic play, in that a stranger arrives into town. Twenty-five-year old Ian is a confident gay man, who is completely comfortable with his sexuality and his place in the world.

“He brings an energy into the small, conservative world of the seaside town.”

There is a big contrast between the bachelor and Ian. “The older man is not necessarily bitter about his life. Times were different for him and there are hints of a tragedy. But, actually, this man has a life in the town. However, he could never have had the life of the young man.”

Breen says that the play is his first with a full cast. “It’s all set in a barber’s shop. One of the challenges for me writing it was to figure out a way why they all end up in the barber’s shop.”

As a 50-year old gay man, Breen is interested in how Irish society has changed. His play explores the changes in attitudes towards homosexuality.

Breen has lived through those changes, from decriminalisation to civil partnerships, and is now facing into a referendum to recognise gay marriage.

Breen, through the character of the bachelor, reveals that the changes may have come too late for many gay people.

While there has been grumbling about the perceived lack of support given by Limerick City of Culture to local community arts groups, Breen says that a number of events, created locally, will be happening later in the year. Some 109 of the 300-plus events this year are under the ‘Made in Limerick’ theme.

*The Bachelor of Kilkish is at the Lime Tree Theatre in Limerick, from tomorrow until Friday