Nineteen Eighty Something

written and performed by Declan Gorman

“Gorman is a compelling performer!” Irish Theatre Magazine

In the middle of the night in 1981, a young Irish migrant is wakened by a strange woman in a German underground station. She tells him to run, run quickly….

And so, begins nine years of running and searching: for love, work, escape, meaning, hope. Spanning a decade, this wildly entertaining autobiographical tale hurtles from the squats, car factories and bars of Munich and Berlin to the deserts of Morocco and home to a new life in fringe theatre and protest politics in Dublin.

It is a time of recession, mass unemployment and migration, hunger strikes, miners’ strikes, Ronald Reagan and Maggie Thatcher, anti-apartheid and miscarriage of justice campaigns. With video montage, movement, a pumping 80s soundtrack and moments of high comedy interlaced with truthful accounts of loneliness, anxiety and recovery, Declan Gorman recreates a decade of global and Irish political upheaval and tells his own story in a visceral live performance.

Contains strong language and sexual references: suited to 14s and upwards

Directed by: Gerard Lee

Movement Director: Fiona Keenan O’Brien

“Gorman gives a truly mesmerising performance” Dublin Metro Herald (Dubliners Dilemma)

“Subtle performance, charming play brought elegantly to life” Irish Independent (Falling Through the Universe)

Photography credit: Enda O'Brien