The Star Of Chester’s Lane

The Star Of Chester's Lane

When

18/11/2021    
8:00 pm

Event Type

Quintessence Theatre present
The Star Of Chester’s Lane
In association with An Tain Arts Centre and An Grianan Theatre

 

 

 

This is a man’s world: always has been. Or has it…?

1854: Mr McGrath has fallen to his death working on the building of the Boyne Viaduct, leaving his wife, Catherine, alone to fend for herself.

What’s a poor woman to do…?
…Put on his clothes, of course, and take up his place in the world!

Kate McGrath was a navvy by name and navvy by nature:
Navvy, hawker, drunkard, comedienne, trailblazer, and tale-teller.
An Irish woman well beyond her time, she loved, and laughed, and lived a fascinating and colourful existence, packing several lifetimes of adventures into her 60 years as one of Drogheda’s most infamous residents.

Quintessence Theatre use their dazzling physical ensemble theatre techniques to reimagine bustling 19th century Ireland and the remarkable true story of one of the country’s forgotten street characters, Kate the Navvy: the Molly Malone of Louth.

The Drogheda Arts Festival 2018 Commission winner, The Star of Chester’s Lane is an original comedy that breathes bawdy new life into Irish history and uproariously celebrates the great tradition of the storyteller.

Directed by Anna Simpson
Assistant Director and Producer by Leah Rossiter
Performed by Ceara Carney, Anthony Kinahan and Fiona Keenan O’Brien
Written/Devised by Quintessence Theatre

Bawdy, irreverent, tragic, energetic … a local story that could be told anywhere … I can see Kate the Navvy will be our Molly Malone – Alison Comyn, Drogheda Independent (& Sky News)

Brilliant…a madcap, Marx Bros meets Monty Python comic treatment that managed nonetheless to make a serious point … a daring comic approach to a quite serious subject matter … totally carried it off – Declan Gorman, Anaverna Productions

Energetically physical production with all the trademark wit, intelligence, ingenuity and talent that I have come to expect from this company – Niall O’Brien, Droichead Arts Centre.