Playwright paints a vivid portrayal of Limerick throughout the decades in his new play

THE YEAR is 1983. In the downstairs toilet at a house party in Limerick, two strangers share a kiss in the dark.

What might sound like the start of a modern love story quickly turns into a gripping tale of longing and obsession.

A story written by Liam McCarthy, the play Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party is loosely inspired by Anton Chekhov’s short story, The Kiss.

But instead of featuring the hotel of a grand estate, it takes us back to the vivid scene of Limerick in the 1980s.

Speaking of the story that sparked his creativity, Liam explains: “I came across it years ago in college”.

“There’s this party at a hotel in a grand estate. A soldier goes into the wrong room and suddenly, he meets a woman, and she kisses him in the dark. A second later, she lets out a little scream and it's a case of mistaken identity and the whole thing disappears.”

In Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party, Jack’s life is changed forever by a brief yet passionate kiss at a party. Quickly, the kiss becomes his lifelong fixation, leading him on a journey of self-discovery across four decades.

“While the play starts in the 80s, every scene is set in a new decade. So they go to 80s, 90s, 00s, up to 2024. Through the years, he becomes increasingly preoccupied, increasingly obsessed,” explains Liam.

Described as a social history of Limerick, the play paints a vivid portrayal of a beloved city, which constantly changed throughout the decades.

“Limerick as a city has gone through so many transformations and changes, you know, between kind of a bleak recession time in the 80s, through to a boom with the Celtic Tiger. Just before the crash, suddenly all of Limerick was about the urban renewal and the pedestrianization of streets and the transformation was huge,” he says.

With his play directed by Joan Sheehy, the Annacotty playwright hopes to bring joy to the public. The same joy he sees in the eyes of those who speak about their experience of Limerick in the 80s.

“When my parents talk about the 80s or when I hear people talking about it, it’s sometimes very bleak sounding. But after researching it, there was also so much joy and craic.

“It’s so funny going around asking my parents, friends and loads of different people who are a bit older than me to tell us about the 80s. Their eyes light up when they start talking,” he smiles. “Obviously we're seeing it through a lens and there's a little bit of nostalgia as well.”

Growing up, Liam was “obsessed with theatre”.

“My parents were involved in the local drama groups and I was just kind of obsessed with it, a total nerd and plays are such odd things to be interested in.

“It’s live, and it's right in front of you, and in a way, you're a part of that, because plays don't exist without audiences. It's different every night,” he says.

Once he got a bit older, he set up a theatre company with one of his friends - just for the craic.

“We set it up when we were 15. We had great craic and suddenly, all our friends, like 20 people were involved in this company.

“We used a deconsecrated church in Castletroy where we put on A Midsummer Night's Dream,” he laughs.

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With a house party being central to his latest work, one wonders what is the most memorable party Liam has ever been to?

“I'm really preoccupied with Limerick at the moment. I remember early house parties when I was 17, when you weren't supposed to do things,” he says with a cheeky smile.

“I was a year younger than all my friends. Those nights and those parties were always like ‘Will I get into the club?’

“That was always very memorable, because there was a chance that I wouldn't. I remember the thrill of that.”

The world premiere production of Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party will run at the Belltable from Thursday, May 2 to Saturday, May 11 - with performances at 8pm.

Preview performances will take place from May 2 to May 4, with the official opening on May 7.

You can book tickets via limetreebelltable.ie