A NEW play by Brassneck Theatre Company is set to premiere during Féile An Phobail next month.

'Anthem for Dissatisfaction' by Gina Donnelly will run at the Roddy McCorley Heritage Centre from August 1-11 before travelling to the capital for performances at the Dublin Fringe Festival from September 7-13.

Written by local playwright Gina Donnelly, the hard-hitting play will be Brassneck's 25th offering to the theatre-going public. 

'Anthem for Dissatisfaction' tells the story of 'Irish Twins' Sarah and Jamie who are about to hit the big Three-0. But before they celebrate their respective birthdays, they're reliving their greatest hits: ‘Credit crunch’, ‘Austerity’ and ‘Free School Meals’.

Explains the play notes: "Jamie is the baby of the family. He has absolutely no tact, no patience and no filter. But where did that ever get anyone? Sarah is 11 months and four days older which means she’s smarter, she’s cooler and she’s right about everything.

Gilly Campbell (Arts Council), Emily Lamey, Tony Devlin (Director), Simon Sweeney and Gina Donnelly (Playwright)
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Gilly Campbell (Arts Council), Emily Lamey, Tony Devlin (Director), Simon Sweeney and Gina Donnelly (Playwright)

"Sarah and Jamie aren’t two kids in one bedroom anymore, the future is uncertain and there’s only so long you can hang on to the past.

Billed as a euphoric, working-class celebration of the power of live music, teenage angst, sibling rivalry and love, a scene from 'Anthem' was given a rapturous reception when staged at the launch of Féile. 

The play stars Emily Laney, currently starring as Gwen Connolly in the Irish soap ‘Fair City’. Emily also stars in the ‘Kneecap’ movie as well as the new Irish Found Footage film ‘The Glenarma Tapes’ which will be released on Amazon this summer.

The other lead is Simon Sweeney, who completed his Masters at East 15 Acting School in 2021. He also trained at Lyric Drama Studio and Tinderbox on the Play Machine Programme.

"Rehearsals are going really well. We have a very good team and it is a lot of fun," says Emily. "The play has got a bit of everything in it.

"It is an honour to be involved in Brassneck’s 25th play and being part of Féile An Phobail is really special too."

Tony Devlin, Artistic Director of Brassneck Theatre Company and Director of ‘Anthem for Dissatisfaction’ says the troupe was "over the moon" to commission Gina Donnelly to write the new work.

Gilly Campbell, Director of Arts Development, Arts Council of Northern Ireland added: “The Arts Council is delighted to support Brassneck Theatre Company and the commissioning of this fantastic new play, with the help of game-changing funding from The National Lottery.

"Anthem for Dissatisfaction reminds us all of the power of music in providing the soundtrack to our lives, and of how music and the arts continue to play an important role in bringing our people and communities closer together.

"I would encourage everyone to go along and see this latest play in Brassneck’s long line of critically acclaimed, socially-engaged theatre that is proving exceptionally popular with audiences.”

Tickets are available now online.