Mikel Murfi returns to Westport

Following sell-out performances in 2019 and 2020 Mikel Murfi returns to Westport Town Hall Theatre with his companion one-man shows, ‘The Man in the Woman’s Shoes’ (Thursday, August 3) and ‘I Hear you and Rejoice’ (Friday, August 4).
‘The Man In The Woman’s Shoes’ is an acclaimed tour de force performance by one of Ireland’s leading actors. It’s October 1978. Pope John Paul I is not long dead, autumn is closing in and cobbler Pat Farnon has ‘some business’ to do in town. The storyline follows Pat as he walks the five miles from his white cottage to town and back again.
He meets unforgettable characters along the way, including water diviner Hubie Patterson, GAA enthusiast extraordinaire Kitsy Rainey, big-voiced Casimir Marshall, an array of farmers all named Gilmartin and Kemp, a man whose idea of a good time is to direct traffic wherever he may find it. Pat may be an aging man, but he has a boundless enthusiasm for life.
The sequel to this wonderful story, ‘I Hear You and Rejoice’ finds our hero Pat later in his life, embarking on a journey he had not quite planned and finding that every twist in the road can bring its own surprises.
Hilariously funny at times yet heart-stoppingly poignant, both short plays (around an hour and a quarter each) will leave you uplifted and in love with life again.
Mikel Murfi has worked on some of the most-celebrated Irish theatre productions of recent years. He directed the award-winning ‘B for Baby’, by Carmel Winters, for the Abbey Theatre, as well as Enda Walsh’s ‘The Walworth Farce’ and ‘Penelope’ for Druid, winners of Scotsman Fringe First Awards. He also received an Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Walsh’s ‘The New Electric Ballroom’ for Druid.

• Curtain up each night at 8pm. To book, visit www.westporttheatre.com or call the theatre box office on 098 28459.