Playwright Jim Nolan's 'Castel Gandolfo' sells out after unprecedented demand
Playwright, Jim Nolan
The highly anticipated play 'Castel Gandolfo', which premiered last week at Garter Lane Arts Centre in Waterford City, has fully sold out for its two-week run after unprecedented demand.
The play, which is written by accomplished Waterford playwright Jim Nolan and stars well-known local actress Carrie Crowley, is set over two days in the backyard of the eponymous Castel Gandolfo, a decaying terraced house in Waterford’s inner city.
Playwright Jim Nolan told the Waterford News & Star last week that bringing the play to fruition has "been a long journey".
Jim, who was born and lives in Waterford, is a founding member and former Artistic Director of Red Kettle Theatre Company.
His plays include Moonshine, The Guernica Hotel, Dear Kenny, The Salvage Shop, Blackwater Angel, Sky Road, Brighton, Dreamland, Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye and The Red Iron.
He was the Anglo Irish Bank Writer in Association at the Abbey Theatre for 2001-2002 and Arts Council Theatre Artist in Residence at Garter Lane Theatre, Waterford from 2012 to 2018.
Speaking to the Waterford News & Star prior to the preview of Castel Gandolfo last Thursday, Jim said: “We’re almost ready to rock now. As I speak we’re about to do a final technical rehearsal, and tonight there will be a dress rehearsal and then we’ll have our first audience on Thursday.
“It’s been a really wonderful month in the rehearsal room and I’ve been very happy being part of the team here. The writing by nature is a solitary pursuit. Once the play opens I tend to run shy and I would be nervous sitting with audiences, but the rehearsal room is wonderful and it’s been a great collaboration."
The play centres around the character of Stephen Callaghan, who is dying, and the frail threads that bind Stephen's family, which are fast unravelling.
His daughter, Rose, is about to lose her job; his son, Tony, is losing the race to restore his father’s vintage car and his granddaughter, Stella, is about to swap a law degree for a start in the local chipper.
As if that wasn’t enough, Stephen’s ex-wife, the formidable Dolly, is back in town. The shock return of another exile threatens to reveal the truth behind a 30-year-old façade.
Castel Gandolfo revolves around the cataclysmic exposure of a Waterford family’s deepest and most secret wounds, and features actors Carrie Crowley, Michael Power, Garrett Lombard, Sarah Madigan and Elishka Lane.
Jim said, "As a writer you bring the words into the room, but it’s the actors and the director and all the other creative team who make it happen. So it’s been good to be part of that collaboration."
Shedding further light on Castel Gandolfo, Jim said: “Castel Gandolfo is the Pope’s summer residence, and Castel Gandolfo is actually the name of a decaying house in inner city Waterford, and that’s where I took the title from.
“The character of Dolly, played by Carrie Crowley, is of Italian-American decent, and her father was Irish. She was Shanghaied back to Waterford in strange circumstances when she was just 15 years old and came to live in this house with her maiden aunts. The house is almost like a character in the play, and she acquired it by nefarious means.
“I think essentially the play revolves around the events which unfolded in the aftermath of her marriage to a local Waterford man, and inevitably the chickens come home to roost.”
The play marks the return of Carrie Crowley to Waterford stages.
A familiar face on our screens, Carrie received global acclaim when feature film An Cailín Ciúin was shortlisted in the 2022 foreign film category of the Oscars. Carrie was also nominated for Best Supporting actress in that year’s IFTAs for her portrayal of Eibhlín Cinnsealach in the film.
Speaking on working with Carrie, Jim said: “One of the great joys of this is to have Carrie Crowley back in her home place.
"Carrie and I worked together as far back as 1989, and I’ve continued to watch her progress from a distance, as a radio presenter, TV presenter and actor.
“She was a great export from Waterford, along with Waterford Crystal and the blaa she’s one of our great exports, so it’s been a particular joy to have her back here and she’s in the company of some really fine actors.
“She hasn’t worked here for a long time and she’s had a lot of successes, both at home and abroad, and it’s been a real joy to have her back here.”
Ben Barnes, artistic director of Four Rivers theatre company, is directing, marking a reunion with long-time collaborator, Jim Nolan.
“It’s been a very moving reunion for me,” Jim said, “Ben directed four or five of my plays. The last one was as far back as 2010, so we haven’t worked together for a while.
“Ben is first of all a terrific script editor, and a brilliant director. On a personal level, being in the rehearsal room is where I get the most satisfaction, and that door isn’t always open to writers, but Ben has been very generous in that regard.
“When I direct plays I always insist that the door is permanently open to the writers, and Ben is very respectful of that. It’s been great to have been welcomed in the rehearsal room by Ben, the actors and the wider creative team.”
In addition to the play's performances, the ‘Castel Gandolfo’ book launch takes place this Friday, October 11, at 6pm at The Book Centre, with readings, discussion and signings.
Castel Gandolfo, a Four Rivers theatre company production, runs from October 4 until October 19, 2024 at Garter Lane Arts Centre.
