West Mayo village to host play based on music of Leonard Cohen

A PLAY based on the music of the late legendary singer songwriter, Leonard Cohen will take place in a west Mayo village next month.

At War With Mercy - a play with music by Leonard Cohen will take place in The Oratory of The Old Convent in Mulranny on Sunday, July 12 at 8pm. The play will be hosted by Mulranny Arts as part of their extensive summer programme.

In 2016 Leonard Cohen worked with Irish writer John MacKenna to produce Between Your Love and Mine, a Mass for theatre, written in response to the deaths of a number of young people. That show did two sold-out national tours, including Áras an Uachtarain and the National Concert Hall in Dublin.

The idea behind At War With Mercy had been discussed by Cohen and MacKenna (friends of more than 30 years) but Cohen’s death in 2016 brought those talks to an end.

However, in 2024, working with co-writer Angela Keogh and musicians Katie Jacques, Shane O’Sullivan and Dave Day, the idea was revived and At War With Mercy is the result.

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A play that draws on the writings and ideas of Leonard Cohen on war, peace and mercy, with 16 of his songs performed live onstage to create a work that has been described as “powerful, moving, electrifying and heartrending.”

At War With Mercy breaks many of the accepted boundaries of theatre – it is performed outside and inside the venues; it creates characters from Cohen’s songs and writing, and it presents a vast array of Cohen's work – including one never released Leonard Cohen composition.

At War With Mercy is a beautiful, moving, poignant and life-affirming show produced by Mend & Makedo Theatre Co – a company specialising in new theatre work since 1981.

With musicians Katie Jacques, Shane Sullivan and David Day and actors Angela Keogh and John MacKenna, the show is a memorable and wonderful recreation and imagining of the work of Leonard Cohen.

Limited tickets are available for the performance on July 12 so people wishing to attend are advised to please book early on www.mulrannyarts.com/atwarwithmercy.