Ciarán Mac Suibhne as Mick and Tia Crowley as Angela in Stolen Child.

Stolen Child returns to Westport

AS part of the Westport Arts Festival theatre programme, St. Patrick's Drama group will return to Westport Town Hall Theatre with their two-act dramatic production, Stolen Child, by Bairbre Ní Chaoimh and Yvonne Quinn. This play was staged by the group in April 2017 and received rave reviews.

Stolen Child, which will be staged this evening (Wednesday, September 27, at 8 p.m.), tells the story of a young woman's journey to find her biological mother. Angela (played by Tia Crowley) enlists the help of a shambolic private detective Mick (played by Ciarán Mac Suibhne), whose irreverent humour and hard-drinking lifestyle mask a deep understanding of human frailty.

Angela's complicated relationship with local doctor Chris (played by Séamas Cafferkey) does little to help her emotional well-being throughout the story. Parallel to her quest is the heartbreaking personal story of her mother Peggy's (played by Liz Browne) upbringing by nuns in a 1940s industrial school and the harsh facts surrounding the enforced adoption of her newborn baby.

Stolen Child is acclaimed as an important and ground-breaking play on the national circuit that will strike a nerve with many, holding the audience in its grip from start to finish. This play is cleverly and expertly directed by Mary Carr, who has been an asset to St. Patrick's Drama Group and many of their most successful productions for over 40 years.

Tickets cost €15/€12 and can be booked at www.westporttheatre.com or (098) 28459.