The world premiere of A Personal Prism by David Joyce will have its world premiere at the Galway’s Black Box Theatre, on Tuesday, November 26, at 8pm.

Inspired by his own experiences, David, an MA graduate of Drama and Theatre Studies at the University of Galway, has written a moving, funny and affecting drama of life in a West of Ireland town from the perspective of a young man in a wheelchair.

David, from Coldwood, Craughwell, is a former recipient of the Arts and Disability Ireland Mentoring Award, while an earlier version of A Personal Prism won a Town Hall Patrons’ Award in 2021, leading to a successful reading and workshop in 2022. This professional production is supported by the Arts Council  and is in collaboration with the Town Hall Theatre. It will also be staged in Tuam and Portumna following its two nights in the Black Box.

The play’s central character Lee Hanley, is in his mid-20s, and is a regular guy with a disability, living in the West of Ireland. Fresh out of college, he’s job-hunting, wants to write poetry and to enjoy a social life – ordinary, everyday things.

But Lee feels trapped by his town and trapped in himself. He struggles with his mental health as well as with the external barriers that he must constantly contend with. Then, without him having a say, he is assigned a Personal Assistant who seems unsuited to him. . .

The cast includes Johanne Webb playing Lee’s sister Megan; Gerard Howard plays Michael, an unemployed older, local man; and Eimear Finan plays amateur drama diva Ronni, the comical but committed manager of a local disability services organisation.

Lee is played by Matthew Nolan, an Irish actor with a disability, living in London, whose recent work includes Doctors (BBC) and 1797 (History/Riot and Tramshed). The play is directed by writer-director Declan Gorman whose previous successes include The Big Fellow, The Green Fool and The Dubliner’s Dilemma.

“I wanted to give audiences a snapshot into the life of a wheelchair user,” David explains, adding that “sometimes it’s the wheelchair that’s seen and not the person. There are many sides to a person and not just the outward visual presentation”.

He stresses that while A Personal Prism deals with hard-hitting subjects, it also has plenty of humour.

“Audience reactions will be the pinnacle of the play. Hopefully it will make people think a little more about wheelchair users, but we also want to give them a thoroughly enjoyable experience and a memorable piece of theatre.”

The play, which is accessible to all, will play Portumna on Thursday, November 28, before closing in Tuam on Friday, November 29, at 8.30pm. It’s suitable for 13s +.  Increased seating for wheelchair users and their companions is provided for all shows.

A Personal Prism will be presented with additional accessibility considerations on Wednesday, November 27, in the Black Box. These will include captioning and audio descriptions. There will be a Touch Tour of the stage for blind / partially sighted people before that, from 6.45-7.15 pm.

A limited number of pre-visit workshops are also available to local community groups.

“Exploring themes of access in our local towns continues the work of the play beyond the stage,” says Arts and Community Liaison worker Joanna McGlynn. For more information on these, contact Joanna on 086 8774710 / mcglynnjoanna@ gmail.com.

Meanwhile, David, who is a past pupil of The Presentation College, Athenry, credits Transition Year there with helping his personal development, so much so that he’s returning there this month to give a talk to TY students as part of the workshops.

Meanwhile, people with a disability and their companion can avail of a €10 ticket for shows.

■ Tickets for the Black Box are available at tht.ie and booking links to all shows are at declangorman.com.

Pictured: Matthew Nolan (left) and Gerard Howard in the play. PHOTO: ANITA MURPHY.