Writer: Helen McGrath
Director: Esosa Ighodaro
IVY, a new play written and performed by Helen McGrath, explores homelessness and its impact on a woman who has been deemed ‘an unfit mother’ by the system. McGrath, as playwright and actress, captures the pain of grief, interlacing scenes of loss with memories of what she had in her life.
In the opening scene, Ivy is surrounded by the detritus of her life now housed in plastic containers and cardboard boxes. The movement direction by Ois O’Donoghue determines the visual shape of the play’s action, incarcerating Ivy in fragmented arrangements of the props on stage, enhancing her portrayal of vulnerability as she tries to negotiate the narrow spaces of her life now.
It is evident in this production that the director, actor, and designer collaborated to capture the overall dynamic of the play. The use of sound devised by H.K. NÍ Shioradáin is a vital part of the overall composition of the production: realistic sound effects of a child’s voice allow us to see the delicate relationship between mother and child, and an aspect of Ivy’s life that has been taken away through separation and the end of her marriage to a controlling husband.
The director Esosa Ighadoro has combined all the elements of the production and blended beautifully light and sound to give the audience a fully rounded glimpse of homelessness and the violent effects of despair in a woman’s life.
Ran Until 29th March 2025.
