Writer: Brigid Leahy
Director: Jeda De Brí
Brigid Leahy’s The Chalice tackles a plethora of current issues affecting Ireland and the world at large. Though the tone remains predominantly humorous, and the writing sharp and witty, there are several much more serious moments explored in this three-hander. Leahy, a triple threat playwright, screenwriter, and actor, was awarded the 2025 Irish Arts Council Theatre Project Award to develop The Chalice. This run in the New Theatre for the Fringe is its premiere.
Ben Moore’s set is a lovely little living room, placing the audience firmly in one of those green and yellow counties down the country with the GAA jersey on the wall and the trophies on the mantel piece. Joseph (Stephen O’Leary) is hosting since he’s the one stuck on his family farm, desperate to follow his brother and friends to Australia. Nancy (Mallory Adams), his cousin many many many times removed, a proud Irish American, has returned for a visit to her ancestral home to uncover a family treasure in the form of a Medieval Irish chalice. Grace (Rhea Rose Rodillas), with Filipino parents and a buried link to Joseph’s family, works for the OPW (Office of Public Works) now and has heard about the chalice thanks to Nancy’s loose lips in the local the night before. Each has a good argument when it comes to what should happen to this chalice; Nancy has fallen victim to the US healthcare system, her life of grinding towards the American dream cut short by medical bills, Joseph is just another young person desperate to get away from an Ireland where the future feels unattainable thanks to the housing crisis, and Grace is the one who understands that our heritage and history is not for sale to the highest bidder.
Leahy’s writing is great, despite the fairly depressing themes the play is very light in tone and the audience is laughing more or less from start to finish. Nancy, in particular, is delightfully well written; equal parts conniving and clueless, she is more than just the Irish American stereotype she could be, and Adams plays her perfectly, with excellent comic timing and some great pathos. O’Leary is strong in his role as Joseph, convincingly pained (both for comic effect and for the darker moments) and really shines when the reins are off in his brief role as one of the monks who made the chalice way back when. Rodillas carries the burden of playing the most serious character in this three hander, representing the many Irish people who are deemed “not really Irish though” and also playing a survivor of sexual violence, it’s a heavy role, but aside from being a little unsteady on the script at times she plays it well, and leans into the comedy with great physicality for her lighter moments.
Though the writing and performances are compelling, the themes important, and the brief vignette of Medieval Irish life absolutely inspired, this play feels just a bit too packed for its 75 minute length. There are too many emotions for the characters to conceivably react to with the depth required, and for the audience it is hard to digest so much in such a short space of time. All that said, it’s still a riot, and a great addition to this year’s festival, marking Leahy as playwright with some interesting stories to tell.
Runs Until 20th Sept 2025.
