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Nuala McKeever presents the world premiere of her specially commissioned new play – Truth, Love or Promise supported by LMETB’s Further Education Colleges

March 2023

To celebrate International Women’s Day students in 3 colleges in Louth and Meath are collaborating on a unique initiative to mark and celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) March 2023.

Students from Drogheda Institute of Further Education, Ó’Fiaich Institute of Further Education and Dunboyne College of Further Education, all colleges in Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB), are staging the event on Tuesday 7 March.

The three colleges are organising a ‘purple-tie’ event culminating in the gala performance of a new play called Truth, Love or Promise written and performed by Nuala McKeever and directed by Dan Gordon. The event venue is The Barbican, St. Peter’s Parish Centre, Drogheda, Co. Louth with doors opening at 6.30pm. Declan Power and the team at The Barbican Centre are giving valuable support to the organisation of this event too.  

The Event

On the evening playwright, actor and comedian Nuala McKeever presents the world premiere of her specially commissioned new play – Truth, Love or Promise. Directed by Dan Gordon, in this one-woman comedy drama, Nuala explores the themes of control, loss, and identity. When life doesn’t turn out the way we expected, are we simply victims of our circumstances, or do we have the power to write our own story, in our own voice?

Three women meet at a creative writing class in Belfast. As the course progresses, Brenda, Maureen, and Joanna get to know each other through their stories. But it’s the things they’re all leaving out, that really tell the tale.  Week by week, the three discover connections which may not fit with their ideas about who they are. And when the truth turns out to be shocking, they must decide what ultimately matters most – truth, love, or promise. 

Also on the night guest speaker Dr Anita Byrne, a Midwife Lecturer and Programme Director at Dundalk Institute of Technology will give a short talk on the issue of Trauma Informed Care, what it is and why it is an essential element of women’s healthcare needs.

Students, teachers, and friends of the colleges have written and designed a creative montage of poetry, prose, and artwork to be unveiled for the first time on the night.

Biographies:

NUALA MCKEEVER 

Nuala McKeever first came to public attention as a member of the award-winning Hole In The Wall Gang, starring in the first two series of Give My Head Peace (BBC NI). She then became the first woman in Ireland to have her own television show – The McKeever Show – which ran on UTV for three years. 

Since then, she has written and performed five plays, the most recent of which, In the Window, toured to Edinburgh, the USA and India. During lockdown she managed to finish her first novel (writing, not reading!)  For the last few years, Nuala has toured sell-out, stand-up comedy shows, presented radio programmes, and finished two patchwork quilts. 

She is thrilled to be presenting her brand-new one-woman comedy drama, Truth, Love or Promise.  

DIRECTOR DAN GORDAN

Dan Gordan is an actor, writer, and director from Belfast. He is best known for his portrayal of Red Hand Luke in the long running BBC comedy series “give my head peace” and the Marie Jones one man show “A night in November” playing in Belfast, London, Australia, New York.

He was nominated for a Broadway Critics Circle Award for outstanding solo performance. Alongside mainstream theatre, television and film work he has a long history of engaging with many mainstream and marginalised groups including, Prison Arts, Youth Justice, Probation Board NI, NIACRO and the Integrated Education Fund. 

DR ANITA BYRNE DkIT

Dr. Anita Byrne is a Midwife Lecturer and Programme Director at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT). She is a qualified nurse, midwife and educationalist with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI). Anita was a member of the multidisciplinary steering group that developed the Certificate in the Fundamentals of Understanding and Responding to Domestic Abuse delivered by DkIT. In addition, she teaches and assesses students on this programme.

More recently, Anita was a member of the advisory panel for the Border Counties Sexual Violence Services Needs Analysis Project. She has presented research papers on domestic abuse at both national and international conferences, and she is currently supervising research in the area of ‘Trauma Informed Care within Perinatal Services’.

Tickets available through Eventbrite or email [email protected] or [email protected] https://www.eventbrite.com/e/truth-love-or-promise-by-nuala-mckeever-together-with-louth-meath-etb-tickets-554266093807

Media queries:

Catherine Fox, Dunboyne College of Further Education [email protected] 087 4194880

Jean Young, Dunboyne College of Further Education [email protected] 086 8218412