Date Published: 26-May-2011

“Put aside any reservations you have about men and football, or sad endings and come out and see it. You’ll be glad.”

That’s the advice of actor Ray Yeates who stars in Dermot Bolger’s one-man show The Parting Glass, about a returned emigrant’s experience of contemporary Ireland in the boom to bust years.

The Parting Glass, which is on its way to Galway as part of a national tour, is set on the infamous night that Thierry Henry’s hand caused Ireland’s exit from the 2010 World Cup. Dermot Bolger uses that incident as a metaphor for the deception experienced by people in post boom Ireland.

“It’s a play about human life and our times,” says Ray, who plays the central character of Eoin as well as a host of other roles. Eoin “is like the rest of us – he doesn’t have any answers to what’s going on either”.

Eoin, who emigrated to Germany to find work during the 1980s, settled there with the help of his wife Frieda and son Dieter. But he returned to Ireland at the height of the boom, and just in time for the bust.

Although it’s a stand-alone drama, The Parting Glass is a sequel to Dermot Bolger’s previous drama In High Germany, which was set during Euro ’88 and captured the mood of a generation of Irish people forced to emigrate out of economic necessity.

The Parting Glass shows that while some things have changed, that haven’t as it offers a passionate and funny meditation on the character of Eoin in mid-life and Ireland in mid-bust.

Since it was first staged in Ireland last year, it has toured extensively, including to New York as part of the city’s Off Broadway Underground Zero theatre festival. There the production received record audiences, standing ovations and several four-star reviews.

Here at home The Irish Times, The Sunday Business Post and The Irish Examiner gave it rave reviews, while the UK’s Guardian also gave it four stars.

“The play makes a variegated and eloquent comment on maleness, friendship and fatherhood, and every Eoin and his son should see it,” according to The Irish Times.

Ray agrees and has additional observation.

“One woman in the audience commented that it’s a rare play about male friendship, because it isn’t at the expense of women. It’s about soccer, it’s about men, it’s about the economic situation and it’s about the relationships between men and women.

It’s sad and funny and mad and very current,” he concludes.

The Parting Glass is directed by Mark O’Brien and designed by artist Robert Ballagh, with lighting design by Conleth White.

It visits Áras Éanna, Inis Oírr, Galway this Saturday night, May 28, starting at 8.30pm. Tickets at €5/€10 area available at www.araseanna,ie or Tel: 099 75 150.

It’s at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway City on Tuesday next, May 31 and Wednesday, June 1 at 8pm. Booking at tht.ie and at 091 569 777

Tickets for the Town Hall cost €15/12.