A LYRIC Theatre production, Big Man takes to the Lyric’s Naughton Studio 27 October - 13 November 2022 as part of Belfast International Arts Festival. Written by novelist Paul McVeigh and starring Tony Flynn (The Playboy of the Western World) and directed by Patrick J O’Reilly (Shirley Valentine), Big Man is an evocative one-man show which uses personal experience to explore love at first sight and whether it ever truly works out.
Holding hands across Ardoyne, two men in pursuit of love move beyond the barrier of age and conflicting gay experience in this powerful new one-man show. Held together by their shared working-class background and experience of devastating loss, what if the very things that brought them together end up pulling them apart? Director Patrick J O’Reilly heads a creative team that also includes set and costume designer Tracey Lindsay, lighting designer James McFetridge and composer and sound designer Stuart Robinson.
Commenting on the production, Jimmy Fay, Executive Producer Lyric Theatre, said: “I am delighted that during the Belfast International Arts Festival the Lyric is premiering Paul McVeigh intense and vivid monologue about the search for love and the pain of loss. Paul is one our most talented and accomplished storytellers and Tony is a truly unique and brilliant actor. Directed by the brilliant creative force Patrick J O’Reilly, who last staged our smash hit Shirley Valentine in 2019, this is an evening of theatre that promises to be incredible.”
Dr Damian Smyth, Head of Literature and Drama, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented: “The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is proud to support the Lyric Theatre as they present Big Man by writer Paul McVeigh as part of this year’s Belfast International Arts Festival. Paul is best known as a unique, exciting novelist and short story writer, but now he makes a welcome return to the theatre. Big Man promises to be a powerful play that I would encourage everyone to go along and experience this autumn.”
Writer of Big Man, Paul McVeigh added: “We are looking forward to the premiere of ‘Big Man’ at Lyric Naughton Studio as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival. It is a play about love and how, when it comes to us, we have little choice but to go along for the ride. Mark, played by the brilliant Tony Flynn, tells us the story of how after many years of being happily alone, life-changing love comes along and takes him with it. It's a rare story about gay life that has love at its centre.”
Tickets for Big Man are now on sale at here or at 02890 381081.
