‘Before is a play set in Clery’s of Dublin

“IT WAS inspired by the experience of a friend of mine,” explains Pat Kinevane, writer and star of ‘Before’, coming to the Civic tonight, July 2.

From the team that brought you ‘Forgotten’, ‘Underneath’ and the Olivier Award-winning ‘Silent’, ‘Before’ is a play with much music, set in Clery’s of Dublin, on the very day this iconic department store shuts – for good.

Pontius is inside, trying to choose a gift for his estranged daughter, whom he hasn’t seen for almost 20 years. He will meet her in an hour.

This father’s journey is both beautiful and strange, from the isolation of his Midlands home to the madness of O’Connell Street.

Some folk are impossible to buy for…

When asked about how long he has had the idea for it, Pat responds, “it was going around in my head for about two years,” stating he wanted to write about the isolation of Irish men in the countryside.

He wanted to write about the mental health challenges they faced, including agoraphobia and depression.

Pat says that ‘Before’ is a “very physical” show with a lot of dancing, so he must warm up and check everything before each rehearsal or performance.

This performance will be the last date of Pat’s summer tour; after this, he is planning to take some time off, doing a bit of writing over the summer, before heading back on the road for September.

In this September run, he will be performing 5 solo shows, including ‘Before’ again.

For help with ‘Before’, Pat would like to thank everybody in the Fishamble Theatre Company and the RTE Concert Orchestra for recording music for the soundtrack.

In regard to this specific performance, Pat would like to thank all the staff in the Civic, from front-of-house to Donal Shiels, for “making it so easy for us”.

Don’t miss ‘Before’ when it comes to the Civic on July 2 at 8pm.!