Grace and Maggie are a young couple living in a small flat in Dublin, finding their feet in the big city and facing into every day life. Grace is from small town Ireland and has lost touch with many of her old friends, possibly because of her new girlfriend and lifestyle. She feels isolated in the city and misses her friendship with her mother, as their relationship has been strained since she came out. Maggie is the more troubled of the two, and suffers from anxiety attacks, crippling her at times and making life a struggle. Their biggest battle will be trying to hold their relationship together with the many issues of their complex lives.

This is an interesting new play by Therese Prendiville that deals with a modern gay relationship in intelligent fashion. This is not a play that takes any of the traditional gay stereotypes or stories that have been told hundreds of times before. This is two smart young women that are trying to find themselves. Their biggest problem isn’t being gay and they seem to have dealt with the issues around their sexuality, they just wish the rest of the world would get over it!

When we meet the characters, they are already living together and the first flush of romance has passed.  While they are intimate and kind to each other, they also have their share of arguments. They are not the perfect couple and the dynamic between the two sparks nicely.

The play is apart of the ‘International Theatre Shorts Programme’ at the IDGTF. At about three quarters of an hour, it was the longest of the shorts and could easily be  converted into something suitable for a solo performance. There is enough depth to the characters, that they could be developed further. The two young actors playing Grace and Maggie are believable and carry the piece along at a good pace.

Cast:

Maggie – Melissa Nolan

Therese Prendiville – Grace

David Grant – Donal

Grace and Maggie was performed as part of the ‘International Theatre Shorts programme‘ which runs at the Cobalt cafe until the 17th of May. Full details can be found at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival website.