OVERVIEW

• Playwright

  Sebastian Barry 

• Setting

  Weston-super-mare, Somerset and Inch, County Kerry in the 1890s.

• Synopsis

  Lizzie, performing in Weston-super-Mare, is wooed in unorthodox, even distracted fashion by a fellow Kerryman returned from the Boer War and haunted by his experiences in Africa. Won over by his 'wildness', it is only on her arrival in Ireland that she realises he is of the landlord class, one of those whose rent demands led to her own family's rootlessness. The Only True History of Lizzie Finn examines the social and religious prejudices in Ireland of the 1890s in a powerful human history. Like the colourful heroes of the Old West, Barry's young lovers write their private histories of adventure, romance and new beginnings.

• Play Type

  Plays General
  

  Number Of Acts

  Full-Length

Cast size

• Male

  17

• Female

  14

• Total

  31

• Cast Notes

  Cast doubling is possible. See original production for details. Two musicians were also featured in the original production.

Original Production

• Date of First Production

  04 October 1995

• Producer

  Produced by Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach

• Original Venue

  Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach
  

• Venue Notes

  Produced on the Abbey Stage.

Source Of Information

The information for this entry was taken from the original production programme.