'Fasten-your-seatbelts' The life and times of Paddy Armstrong is coming to the Dunamaise Arts Centre
Don Wtcherley on stage in his role as Paddy Armstrong
THEATRE lovers in Laois are in for a 'fasten-your-seatbelt' performance from renowned Irish actor Don Wycherley when he takes to the stage at the Dunamaise Arts Centre for a one-man play titled on Saturday 22 March.
The play is adapted from Paddy Armstrong’s memoir (2017), which was written with Mary-Elaine Tynan of the Portlaoise Tynan family.
Paddy Armstrong and his three co-accused were wrongly convicted of the Guildford pub bombings in 1974, which claimed the lives of four soldiers and a civilian and injured 65 others. The convictions of all four were eventually overturned in 1989.
Presented by Wooden Bridge Productions, the script was written by producer/director Mary-Elaine Tynan, Don Wycherley and Niamh Gleeson, scriptwriter for .
Fifty years after his wrongful conviction for the Guildford bombings in 1975, Paddy (74) now faces into his twilight years with his wife Caroline, a proud Laois woman from Colt.
Through his mesmerising 75-minute performance, Don relives the journey that forever altered Paddy Armstrong’s destiny, while giving voice to several other characters who feature in Paddy’s story.
Well known for his part in TV shows such as , and , Don also had many supporting roles in Irish films over the years, including (2003) (2009) and (2016).
The actor recently took time out from his busy schedule to talk to the Don said he always “dabbled in plays in school” in Skibbereen, Co Cork, where he is from.
He said: “When I was a young primary school teacher in De La Salle in Finglas, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a teacher, so I began working in a pizzeria in Drumcondra doing nine-hour shifts. The teachers would come in after three o’clock on their way home. I’d have started at ten in the morning and would be still on until about 7.30pm. I wondered what I was doing, working more hours, getting paid less money and why I was avoiding teaching.
“I went back to teaching and the principal asked me, as the new teacher, to do the Christmas play. I did, and I enjoyed it. As a young teacher, I started a weekend acting course, but teachers would go out on Friday nights and I had acting classes on Saturday mornings so I said ‘ah here’ and pulled out.
“Then I saw a one-year full-time acting course in the Gaiety School of Acting. I thought that total immersion would be better than ducking in and out. I applied in 1992 and was successful and the school principal said I could go back to my job if I ever wanted to, but I never did.
“I was very lucky with casting directors, because there’s many salmon at the weir, but not so many make it over. The Abbey Theatre gave me a contract for a year, where I was in many spear-carrying roles, and then I was offered the lead in a play called ***The Honey Spike*** by Brian McMahon about the Travelling community, which was on the main stage in the Abbey.” Don said that to research Paddy Armstrong's real-life events, he went to meet him and Caroline in their Dublin home and spent nearly a year with him, on and off, listening to his stories. Once the script was completed, a private viewing was performed for Paddy and Caroline.
About the play, Don said: “It’s an amazing true story. You’ll be moved to anger or tears and you’ll laugh out loud. For me, it’s a train journey on which the audience comes along with me, and this is why I do theatre.” Michelle de Forge, director of the Dunamaise Arts Centre, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Don back to the Dunamaise stage. He’s been here a number of times before and he has always left audiences highly impressed by his powerful performances and really strong storytelling skills.
“This particular piece has gone down brilliantly with audiences all around the country, telling the true, in-depth story of Paddy Armstrong from the viewpoint of the man himself behind the news headlines that we're familiar with from during the Troubles. I can guarantee a brilliant night of Irish theatre for audiences who come along.” Tickets for the play on Saturday 22 March can be booked at www.dunamaise.ie or by phoning the box office on 057 8663355.
