Christ Deliver Us! (After Wedekind)

By the banks of the Gowlawn Gash river, Mossy, Michael and Winnie are growing up, wild as weeds.

Vulnerable, confused and brimful of desire, they strive to make sense of the world and their place within it. With the Church held up as their guide, their future is at its mercy.

Inspired by German dramatist Frank Wedekind's 1891 masterpiece Spring Awakening, Christ Deliver Us! by Thomas Kilroy vividly depicts the innocence and pain of growing up in 1950s Ireland. With a timely resonance, it lays bare the hypocrisy and cowardice of a society ruled by the Church.

Christ Deliver Us! is a startling play. In light of the Ryan and Murphy reports into clerical abuse, it is also an important one for us today.

Please note the play contains scenes of a disturbing nature. Suitable for over 16s.

Commissioned by the Abbey Theatre and inspired by German dramatist Frank Wedekind's "Spring Awakening", Thomas Kilroy's new play tells the story of three young children growing up in 1950s Ireland, trying to make sense of the world and their place in it. Mossy, Michael and Winnie are growing up "wild as weeds", with the Catholic Church seen as the moral standpoint, their futures at its mercy.

One of the Abbey Theatre's firm favourites, Kilkenny born Kilroy holds a number of awards as well as being a member of the Irish Academy of Letters, The Royal Society of Literature, and Aosdána. He refers to his work as a kind of "in your face realism", which will no doubt be illustrated in "Christ Deliver Us" also.

With the recent publications of the Ryan and Murphy reports into clerical abuse, this play is a relevant and important one for us today, offering an objective insight into a society governed by the Church.

Please note the play contains scenes of a disturbing nature. Suitable for over 16s.

Words: Anna Hayes

Website: http://www.abbeytheatre.ie