A Man of No Importance

Written by Terrence McNally and Stephen Flaherty
Directed by Matt Gould
Presented by Sedos

“What we had was something.
What we had was rare.
Poetry and art in the air.
And friends…”

It is Dublin 1964: bus conductor Alfie Byrne has ambitions to stage Salome, by his hero Oscar Wilde, despite the objections of the church hierachy at St Imelda’s where his amateur theatre group is based. When a newcomer to town, the young and beautiful Adele Rice, joins the passengers on his bus, he knows that he has finally found his leading lady. Alfie announces that the show is going up and pulls together his colourful cast drawn from the local community and the bus passengers.

Meanwhile Alfie’s sister Lily mistakes her brother’s interest in Adele as romantic — she longs to have him off her hands so she can be free to marry Mr Carney, the local butcher, who is also a leading light of the St Imelda’s Players. Little does Lily realise that Alfie’s love “dare not speak its name” and the object of his affections is in fact bus driver Robbie (fondly referred to as “Bosie” by Alfie).

Struggling to create a work of art, Alfie fails to appreciate the controversy his production will ignite. As opening night draws near, secrets come spilling out which threaten to shake this little community to its core. But camaraderie and the redeeming power of theatre offer a thread of hope in this story of friendship, forbidden love and finding our place in the world. We learn that theatre is not just a place in which to hide, but somewhere to discover that it really is a wonderful thing to love who you love.