Triumphant return to Cork for Cillian Murphy

Cork actor Cillian Murphy made a triumphant return to his hometown last night when he led a stellar cast at the opening of Enda Walsh’s Ballyturk at Cork Opera House. It was Murphy’s first appearance on a Leeside stage since he first broke through in 1996 in another of Walsh’s plays, Disco Pigs.

The boy from Ballintemple has grown into a 38-year-old star with such films as 28 Days Later and three Batman movies under his belt, and it was nice to see a hefty contingent of his family in the audience as part of the homecoming.

But last night wasn’t all about Murphy. Alongside him on the Opera House stage were Mikel Murfi and Stephen Rea, who both gave the expected brilliant performances in Walsh’s typically quirky play. Just like so much of Disco Pigs came from a linguistic base, the Ballyturk brothers played by Murphy and Murfi use language to create their own universe to relieve the boredom of the small room they are confined in. Rea’s character arrives late in the play and offers them with a way out of this world.