23 – 24 July

At eighteen, Eimear has the world at her feet. A place at Oxford, friends with great hair and ambition and a trip to Costa Rica by private jet to ‘save the environment’. If only her Mum would see her for what she will become, and if only she would call her Emma.

At eighteen, Grainne was scrubbing butcher’s trays every night after school to save up for a flight to England. She wanted to be able to give her unborn daughter more, to break out of the reality of a brutal upbringing in rural Ireland. If only Eimear would understand the sacrifices she made; if only she would for once say thank you.

Life Before You explores the limits of caring and what it means to love unconditionally. Can a mother’s love transcend rigid class systems, or will the different life expectations of the two women push one of them to the brink of no return?

The Team
This production has been made by recent graduates and current students from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
MA Directing graduate, Roisin McCay-Hines was awarded a bursary from Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory Fund earlier this year to develop a brand new play in Bristol.

Life Before You has been created in collaboration with MA Drama Writing graduate Eva Hudson, MA Performance Design graduates Abigail Manard & Jasmine Thompson, BA Production Arts graduate Lydia Morgan and actors from the BA and MFA courses.

Dates and Times: Sun 23rd Jul 2023 6:00 PM – Mon 24th Jul 2023 7:00 PM (1hr)
Venue: The Alma Tavern and Theatre, Clifton, BS8 2HY

Photo credit: Craig Fuller