UNSPEAKABLE CONVERSATIONS
by Christian O’Reilly in collaboration with Liz Carr, Mat Fraser and Olwen Fouéré
Once Off Productions and Galway International Arts Festival
present
UNSPEAKABLE CONVERSATIONS
by Christian O’Reilly in collaboration with Liz Carr, Mat Fraser and Olwen Fouéré
I am at Princeton University. My host is Professor Peter Singer, often called the most influential philosopher of our time. He is the man who wants me dead. No, that’s not fair...
Can an argument be made for killing disabled babies within the first months of their lives? Peter Singer, philosopher and author of Animal Liberation, says yes. Harriet McBryde Johnson, attorney and disability rights activist, disagrees.
In a new play based on their Princeton encounter and immortalised in Johnson’s New York Times Magazine article, Unspeakable Conversations thrusts us into the heart of this life and death debate, asking us all to consider this question.
Internationally acclaimed disabled actors Liz Carr [Silent Witness; Loki; Olivier Award winner Best Actress in a Supporting Role for The Normal Heart, National Theatre, London] and Mat Fraser [American Horror Story; His Dark Materials; Loudermilk; Richard III] take to the stage as Harriet and Peter, but also as themselves, as friends and actors, to interrogate this unspeakable conversation through humour and personal insight, mixing verbatim text with their own words.
Provocative, transformative, and highly entertaining, this exhilarating theatre experience was conceived by Christian O’Reilly and written in collaboration with Liz Carr, Mat Fraser and Olwen Fouéré.
Produced in association with Magic Pill Productions, Mermaid Arts Centre and Independent Living Movement Ireland.
Originally developed with the support of The Abbey Theatre [Engine Room], Town Hall Theatre [Patron Donation Award] and National Theatre [London].
Creative Team
Liz Carr: Performer/Co-writer
Mat Fraser: Performer/Co-writer
Christian O'Reilly: Writer
Olwen Fouéré: Director/Co-writer
Kellie Hughes: Director
Matt Burke: Lighting Design
Tobias Barry: Sound Design
Zoe Reynolds: Stage Manager
Aisling Hanrahan: Theatre PA
Peter Searle: Image
Emilija Jefremova: Production Photography
Ashley Behrend: Hair, Make-Up & Wardrobe
Morgan Steele: Company Manager
Emily Aherne: Assistant Producer
Maria Auletta: Production Assistant
Avram Rosewood: Chief LX
Gavin Kennedy: Production Manager
Adam Fitzsimons: Production Manager
Paul Fahy: Producer
Maura O'Keeffe: Producer
2024 Dates
14-27 July: The Mick Lally Theatre, Druid Lane (as part of Galway International Arts Festival)