Myra’s Story – Gaiety Theatre – Review
by Frank L.

Myra’s Story – Written by Brian Foster
Cast: Fionna Hewitt-Twamley
DATES: 26th Oct. – 31st Oct.

This is a production with minimal theatrical baggage. The stage has a black backdrop, with only a park bench at centre stage. We meet Myra, a bag lady with a plastic bag containing her possessions, including a bottle and a threadbare blanket. That is it. But the “bag lady”, “down-and-out” or “tramp” – call her what you will – is played by Fionna Hewitt-Twamley, who has been inhabiting the role for the past seven years. During that time, she has performed at the Edinburgh Festival on four occasions, in the West End and across North America. She is now bringing the production to audiences on tour in the United Kingdom and Dublin. The reasons for the play’s success are not difficult to understand.

Hewitt-Twamley delivers a grade-A, five-star performance. She recounts Myra’s life, from a childhood spent in poverty to her first romance, her discovery of sex, marriage and childbirth. Then come the challenges that begin to overwhelm her, the wrong decisions, the gradual narrowing of her choices and, eventually, the reduction of her priorities to the most immediate necessities: where can she sleep, and where can she get a drink?

In the hands of a less accomplished performer, this could easily become a dirge, but Hewitt-Twamley brings such passion and humanity to Myra that she becomes an individual you genuinely want to know. She is funny, perceptive and disarmingly observant. Hewitt-Twamley’s comic timing is impeccable, as is her ability to mimic the facial expressions and physical mannerisms of the remarkable collection of characters who have populated Myra’s life. It is a magnificent exercise in storytelling. One cannot help wondering how someone as astute as Myra, so capable of recognising and recounting the foibles and strengths of those around her, has ended up living on the streets, seemingly friendless.

When Hewitt-Twamley coughs, she produces a rattling sound that is genuinely horrific to hear. Her performance is so convincing that one might almost believe she has been living on the streets herself. Her tattered clothes and grimy face are rendered with such realism that you could almost imagine smelling her if you were sitting in the front row. If you encountered Myra on the street, your instinct might be to avoid her, avert your eyes or cross to the other side of the road. That is precisely the response that the production challenges.

What Foster and Hewitt-Twamley reveal is that Myra’s present circumstances are the result of trauma, brought about by a combination of events that have overwhelmed her, with alcohol’s false promises only compounding the damage. But, and this is a very important but, Myra remains an individual deserving of dignity and respect, someone whose story is worth hearing. Beneath the dirt, the dishevelled appearance and the addiction is a human being whose life has taken a devastating turn.

At the end of the performance, Hewitt-Twamley addresses the audience from the stage, drawing attention to the plight of people like Myra and inviting donations to Cuan Mhuire, a charity that supports people struggling with addiction through a range of residential programmes. It is an affecting conclusion to a production that combines entertainment with a powerful social message.

This is a night at the theatre with a serious purpose, but Hewitt-Twamley ensures that it is also a joyous experience. Through humour, compassion and a remarkable commitment to her character, she reminds us that even those we might instinctively pass by have stories that deserve to be told.