All posts by midnightmurphy

About midnightmurphy

Limerick to Dublin to Amsterdam to Dublin to Limerick View all posts by midnightmurphy →

Opening night: ‘Mother’s little treasure’

August 29, 2018Dublin, Theatre, Uncategorizedmidnightmurphy

MLT

Opening night is complete. What a buzz. My fingernails are bitten to the quick. I took the executive decision last night to sit among the audience to laugh loudly at the places I thought they should be laughing. Just in case they needed any encouragement. It’s not that I am being arrogant. Or as delusional as the main character Maureen Moore is about the classiness of a leopard-print wardrobe. I was just nervous that they would sit there in stony faced silence and crush all my dreams by falling asleep. The house lights went down. The voiceover began.

‘Good evening ladies, gentlemen and others. Welcome to Firedoor Theatre’s production of Mother’s Little Treasure…’ I gulped and grasped the side of the seat in a vice-like grip. The show was on the road. Continue reading Opening night: ‘Mother’s little treasure’ →

The smokey eyes of Midnight Murphy

August 27, 2018Diabetes, Dublin, Theatre, Uncategorizedmidnightmurphy

One of the deeply glamourous side effects of diabetes is blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy. This is where diabetes induced damage is caused to the retina. Over 80% of diabetics who have had the disease for 20 years or more will get retinopathy. Not all people with retinopathy will go blind thankfully. I have been diabetic for forty years since I was but a toddler. For some bizarre reason my eyesight is still intact. Every year I go to a special eye clinic where a nice woman takes a photograph of inside my eye, sends it away to a lab for analysis and issues the result. Continue reading The smokey eyes of Midnight Murphy →

Our first audience: ‘Mother’s little treasure’

August 26, 2018Dublin, Theatre, Uncategorizedmidnightmurphy

MLT

Today was the official ‘get in’ day to the theatre – the day which we can start preparing the theatre – the backstage; the sound and light desks; the prop desk etc. And have a few run throughs on stage before the tech and dress rehearsal on Monday. All in anticipation of the main event – opening night on Tuesday. Continue reading Our first audience: ‘Mother’s little treasure’ →

The silence of the leopards

August 25, 2018Uncategorizedmidnightmurphy

liz

I am sitting in my apartment, with the balcony door open, listening to the silence. It is quite surreal. I live in a block of flats that is beside a busy road with constant traffic from about 6am to 10pm each day. It never bothers me – traffic is noise that can be blocked out. It is only noticeable when it is absent. I first noticed this during one of those climate change storms last year when work was cancelled because of hurricane style winds. I ignored Met Office advice and ventured outside to locate a shop to buy an emergency supply of Jammy Dodgers. The vacant streets, the lack of cars and buses was quite memorable. Continue reading The silence of the leopards →

He’s got the whole world in his hands

August 24, 2018Uncategorizedmidnightmurphy

I remember the Pope’s visit to Ireland in 1979. I had recently been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and had just started primary school. Pope John Paul 2’s visit entranced the land. It was like Garth Brooks had risen from the dead and was playing his comeback concert in Ireland. Everyone was talking about it at school. Beatlemania had nothing on this. John, Paul, George and Ringo held far less sex appeal than John-Paul. John-Paul in fact stirred feelings in the loins of people of all ages and sexes. A million people gathered in the Phoenix Park to shriek their appreciation of the Body of Christ – the largest single gathering of Irish people ever. It was all very intense. Continue reading He’s got the whole world in his hands →

Food: Peruke & Periwig

August 23, 2018Uncategorizedmidnightmurphy

AAB

When you live in the city centre, your home becomes a popular port of call for friends who live ‘out foreign’ (and when I say ‘foreign’ I don’t just mean overseas, I also mean locations within Ireland, outside the M50 ring motorway.) Something about a city dwelling is more appealing to visitors, than a pleasant semi-detached house in the suburbs. Luckily I am a sociable sort and enjoy receiving guests. I have a perfectly comfortable fold out sofa bed that can be used for friends and other visiting dignitaries. Continue reading Food: Peruke & Periwig →

Theatrical: I know what I am talking about

August 22, 2018Dublin, Theatre, Uncategorizedmidnightmurphy

MLT-entertainment-ie

As luck would have it, I am working from home today. Thanks to a mishap with my toilet, I needed to call a plumber to repair the flush on my throne. It is a far more efficient idea than the temporary practise of flushing with a bucket of water. This allowed me to sit in my pyjamas and plot my strategy. Continue reading Theatrical: I know what I am talking about →

Theatrical: ‘Mother’s little treasure’

August 20, 2018Dublin, Theatre, Uncategorizedmidnightmurphy

Yesterday was the final rehearsal in the studio for my looming play ‘Mother’s Little Treasure’. Next weekend is the get-in to the theatre. When the fun and frolics begin in earnest. As luck would have it Dublin is on total lockdown next weekend as the Pope is in town. He’ll be doing two gigs – one in the Phoenix Park for half a million faithful; and the other in Croke Park for 80,000 people. The entire city centre is shut from about 8am on Saturday morning, until midnight on Sunday night. Highly inconvenient for an atheist trying to carry the set for a play, to a theatre for a Tuesday premiere. Continue reading Theatrical: ‘Mother’s little treasure’ →

The occupation of 35, Summerhill Parade

August 9, 2018Dublin, Uncategorizedmidnightmurphy

38724456_220241818662067_3538751450710540288_n

During lunch break today I sat at my desk browsing the internet (my brow furrowed while doing so, in case anyone passing thought I was slacking). I read a heart-breaking story about a mother and her six children seeking refuge in Tallaght Garda Station for the night, because there were no available emergency beds through homeless services. As there are currently 10,000 people in Ireland officially homeless (including 4000 children), the housing crisis has escalated to emergency levels. Continue reading The occupation of 35, Summerhill Parade →

Brighton in Summer

August 7, 2018Pride, Uncategorizedmidnightmurphy

untitled

Brighton is a town that I love. Since my first visit in 2010, I have travelled there on an almost annual basis. The seaside atmosphere, the faded grandeur, the alternative vibe, the vegan shoe shops, the markets, the Pier with its haunted hotel. And the gays. I’d heard tales of the preponderance of homosexuals in the town. Continue reading Brighton in Summer →