The New Theatre wish to celebrate Michael Collins and mark a centenary since he was taken from this earth.
Kitty Kiernan and Michael Collins kept up lengthy letter writing correspondence from 1919 – 1922.
When Collins was in London during the Treaty negotiations, he wrote to Kitty every day.
Kitty’s worst fears were realized when Collins was killed at the age of 31 near Béal na Bláth, County Cork, on 22 August 1922.
22 years ago, some of the 300 letters sent by Kiernan and Collins to each other went on permanent display at the Cork Public Museum. These letters give a great insight into Kitty’s attitude to life and into the political events of this time.
On August 22nd, The New Theatre will perform live carefully selected public available letters.
Selected letters will be performed by Amy O’Dwyer (Kitty Kiernan) and Ethan Dillon (Michael Collins). The actors will be accompanied by cellist Frieda Freytag.
Former Fine Gael minister Peter Barry donated his collection of historic letters to the Lord Mayor of Cork on behalf of the municipal museum. The collection, purchased from the Cronin family in 1995, was conserved at the Delmas bindery at Marsh’s Library in Dublin: the letters were also catalogued and then returned to the Cork Public Museum.
The bulk of the letters between Collins and Kiernan were written between 1919 and 1922, and through their almost daily contact emerges a picture of the dreams and aspirations of the man often called Ireland’s “lost leader” and the woman with whom he wanted to share a “normal” life.
Their correspondence represents a unique and revealing portrait of an ordinary man and an ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances,
For one night only on August 22nd, 7:30pm, The New Theatre will perform live carefully selected public available letters.
Ethan Dillon – Michael Collins
Amy O’Dwyer – Kitty Kiernan
Frieda Freytag- Cello
Anthony Fox – Director
Cast and Creatives
Ethan Dillon – Michael Collins
Ethan is from Cork and is a graduate of both UCC and The Gaiety School of Acting. Ethan played Pig in the Irish Times Theatre Award winning production Disco Pigs & Sucking Dublin. Theatre work includes Shane Casey’s Wet Paint, The Boys with Reality Check, Norah, Ledwidge and One Para with The New Theatre, The Spinning Heart at The Gaiety Theatre, and his own adaptation of Three Men in a Boat. Work at the Mill Theatre includes The Twits, Romeo and Juliet, The Playboy of the Western World, Othello and Cinderella. Film work includes The Green Knight and Vikings: Valhalla.
Amy O’Dwyer – Kitty Kiernan
Amy graduated with a distinction from the London School of Musical Theatre, and studied a BA in Drama and Theatre at Trinity College Dublin. When not acting, she works as a producer with The Podcast Studios, and has worked in radio as a news reader and presenter.
Some recent TV/Stage credits include: Jackie (Yeat’s Memorial), The Moving Bridge (Fightback Festival 2020), A Little Heart (Smock Alley), 24 Hour Plays (Abbey Theatre), Fair City (RTE), Ledwidge (New Theatre, National Tour), Lockdown (New Theatre, National Tour), Making Dad’s Army (BBC), Madame Markievicz on Trial (New Theatre, National tour), Peter Pan (Gaiety Theatre), Boys (Cork Arts Theatre), The Last Five Years (Project Arts Centre), If I Were You (Cork Arts Theatre), Immaculate (White Bear Theatre, London), KatieMag (The Everyman Palace/Smock Alley), Who Will Carry The Word (Brockley Jack Theatre, London, Our Town (Camden People’s Theatre, London), Playground Night (Theatre 503, London)
Frieda Freytag – Cello
Frieda Freytag is a multi-instrumentalist, poet and art fundamentalist who performs, records and works with bands, singer-songwriters and theatre makers across the board. She is a passionate cello and piano teacher and has founded the Quaverberry Collective with some of her students, writing, performing and publishing their own original music.
Ethan Dillon
Michael Collins
Amy Dwyer
Kitty Kiernan
Frieda Freytag
Cello
Anthony Fox
