Ciaran Grace told David Hennessy about Triptych, his debut play made up of three stories about different kinds of relationships.
Ciaran Grace from Dublin has acting credits including Vikings, Valhalla, Black 47 and Love/ Hate.
He has also been selected by the well known actor Ashley Walters for a programme geared towards emerging acting talent.
Now Ciaran is making things happen for himself and next thing he brings his debut play, Triptych to the London stage at Camden People’s Theatre as part of Camden Fringe.
The show is a series of three short plays exploring relationships in their most intimate and challenging forms: with a partner, with family, and with oneself.
Each piece presents a self-contained story, united by a shared focus on moral complexity.
The show is written by Ciaran.
He also acts in all three but it is not a one man show as he is joined by other cast members for two of the three.
The first story His and Hers is about a couple whose six-year anniversary is the perfect setting for a proposal until a revelation exposes the gap between expectation and reality.
Sibs sees a brother visit his sister in South America, accidentally knock off the wifi, and unleash an argument that is really about a trauma from their past.
In Thunderclap a man argues with his conscience about what to do after the stranger he came to hookup with has overdosed and died.
The play also has three different directors with Agnieszka Więcławska directing His and Hers, Meghan Bartual-Smyth directing Sibs and Ellie McCoy directing Thunderclap.
Ciaran Grace took time to chat to the Irish World about the show.
Where did Triptych come from?
“That’s a great question.
“The show is three short plays in one, so they’ve all come from different places and at different times.
“Two of them were short film scripts that I had written and adapted for the stage and then one of them was always for the stage.
“They all came from my imagination but definitely using life experience to help shape them into to what they became.
“They’re all linked around the theme of relationships.
“The first one is a relationship between a couple, then it’s a relationship with a sibling and then the relationship with yourself.
“That’s where it came from.
“Then it was really brought to life by a need to do something here, put myself in the shop window and put on a show with material that I have.
“It’s good writing, people are responding to it so I wanted to showcase that.”
You’re experienced as an actor but felt it was time to make something happen..
“100%, yeah.
“I was chosen by Ashley Walters (Top Boy, Adolescence).
“He picked me for this programme for emerging actors.
“He personally selected me so I was happy with that.
“The idea was to try and get us out there.
“But then I was flying over and back for a year and it got midway through last year and I was like, ‘I should just be living here. This is where all the opportunities seem to be’.
“And we’re still waiting, depending on Ashley’s availability, when we’re going to have our showcase from that programme but I’m not waiting around for someone else to give me the opportunity, I’m just going to take one myself and put on my own show.”
It is three shows in one but with three different directors. I find that interesting. Does that mean there are three different styles?
“There’s similarities and differences.
“Obviously, same writer across the three but that’s the reason why I wanted three directors.
“I wanted three points of view so it’s not samey, so you’re not getting the same vibe in each one.
“I wanted three very different people, great directors, to come across and sort of put their own stamp on it.
“I’ve really put myself in their hands to see what their ideas are and it’s a really, really good collaboration.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with them.”
You also go to pains to point out it is not a one man show, ou are joined by two cast members, Hannah Wilder and Rua Barron..
“The kind of the humorous sub heading I’ve been giving people is, ‘At least it’s not a one-man show’.
“Rua is also from Dublin.
“We met at an Irish Creative Collective scenes night.
“And then when I was deciding to put this on, I was thinking about casting, who would play my sister in Sibs.
“I was going home for my dad’s 70th and she was sat next to me at the gate.
“I was like, ‘Oh Rua, how’s it going?’
“And we just had a great chat and I was like, ‘She’d be good as my sister, I think’.
“So then I just sent her a text after and asked her did she want to do it.”
Sibs shows how seemingly innocuous things, like a wifi connection, can bring to the surface painful memories that have been long buried…
“Yeah, that’s exactly it.
“Do you have siblings?”
Yeah, I’m one of eight.
“You’ll definitely know.
“You can’t just not be family.
“You know you’re going to be in each other’s proximity again, probably when you go home for Christmas.
“You just revert back to your old ways.
“The relationship between siblings there’s so much baggage from the past, the bullying you might have done as a kid or the grievances you had. You have to let them go but they never really leave you.
“That’s really where the centre of that is.
“It’s an unresolved thing but we’ve had to just kind of get on with it because they’ve had some big things happen in their life.
“They’ve lost their parents and so they only have each other but the event from the past is something that was never fully addressed and he didn’t respond well when she told him at the time and she’s held that against him for six years.”
Thunderclap is about a man who goes on a date only to watch his companion die of a drug overdose..
“Triptych is almost like, ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen?’
“It’s a man that’s come out of a relationship and he’s tried to put himself back out there and goes to hook up with a woman.
“He can’t believe his luck and then when it happens, she offers him drugs and he’s like, ‘No’.
“She goes, ‘All the more for me’.
“And they’re a bad batch and she ends up overdosing and dying and then he has to deal with the fallout of that, so it couldn’t have gone any worse.
“It’s almost like, ‘Put yourself out there. Be positive. Do things’.
“The show’s almost like a really cynical response to that, ‘Yeah, and someone could f**king die’.
“’What’s the worst that could happen? You get a story out of it?’
“You could end up in prison for mistaken identity or falsely accused.
“And then it kind of is playing on the thing of if you ask a man what’s his worst fear, that a woman will ridicule him and a woman’s worst fear is that she will die.”
Tell us about His and Hers which is about a couple..
“It’s probably the most developed to date.
“And the first two times, and I was delighted with this, it got a big ‘ooh’ on that one, the moment of revelation which is about four or five minutes in.
“It’s kind of a fun back and forth between her coming home from work and then the revelation happens.
“The last time I did it, it got a big laugh, so it’s a really interesting.
“The first, people were disgusted.
“There’s definitely a lot of emotion in it.
“People that have seen it have said it’s very like TV or cinema in terms of it’s bringing you into a couple’s domestic life, and all of the stories do that.
“They’re what happens behind closed doors, fly on the wall type of stuff, really bringing you into the worst moments of people’s lives essentially.
“It’s the worst moment of her life (in His and Hers).
“SIBS is about the worst moment of his sister’s life being brought back up.
“And then Thunderclap it’s definitely the worst moment of his life.
“He thought the worst moment of his life was his breakup and then it’s the death of this poor woman.
“His and Hers I think it’s the longest one and I think it’s the most emotional one.
“Actually when I perform it, I need a minute sometimes, I need a minute afterwards.
“It goes to places.
“I use some stuff.
“It’s all a made up story but I use some emotions from stuff that’s happened in my life.
“I couldn’t dramatise my last breakup because my last breakup was just, ‘I don’t want to be with you anymore. We’re breaking up. It’s over’.
“But the emotion of that is distilled into His and Hers.
“There’s some words that are actually said in my previous breakup that are in His and Hers but I’ve framed it within a dramatic framework.
“Everyone always asks me about the three stories, ‘Oh, is this real?’
“And I’m like like, ‘Yes and no. I made it up but it’s very real when I’m doing it’.”
I thought the show maybe started off quite easy before going on to stories more traumatic, am I wrong in that?
“It really goes longest to shortest.
“It’s probably not an emotional track but also I think for the audience it goes saddest to funniest.
“I know what you’re thinking, ‘What? The one with the dead woman is funny?’
“It is actually darkly comic.
“I’ve been saying to people, it’s dark and comic if you laugh.
“It is a very funny one because you’re flitting around in Thunderclap.
“You’re flitting around with time so he’s going through the emotions of how excited he was when they first matched and all that sort of stuff.
“And then his conscience is ripping the absolute piss out of how much of a loser he is.
“And then Paula also starts ripping the piss out of him.
“He’s in battle with his own mind and I think people will relate to that because we all have arguments in our head going on all the time, constant chatter.
“But again, I think even with all of them, even with His and Hers, everyone’s either had to break up or been broken up with and they’re both very difficult things to do when you’re on whichever side you’re on.
“They’re both actually extremely difficult things to do because you don’t want to hurt people.
“And SIBS, anyone with siblings is going to instantly relate to that needling.
“The trauma is on her character so for me, as a performer, I’m just kind of being a happy-go-lucky guy that’s in Argentina visiting his sister and I’m happy. I’m on holidays. I’m in holiday mode and I have no idea this is coming, that she’s going to bring this up because it was six years ago.
“We haven’t talked about it really.
“We don’t.
“We just kind of get on with things.
“That’s our family way.”
Your press material says this is for a young audience and particularly female but I wonder if it’s not more universal and for both genders and all ages..
“100%.
“I do think that.
“The female audience love relationship-based stuff.
“It’s elicited very strong responses from women, from anyone that’s seen the scratch night so far to the point that people have gone up and congratulated the actress for writing it and she’s had to kind of go, ‘No, he wrote it’.
“So it is really resonating with female audiences, and men as well.”
Do you take that as a compliment if they are taking it as written by a woman, it certainly means your female characters are ringing true..
“Yeah, 100%.
“I take it as a huge compliment.
“I think it’s a huge compliment because of the fact that it’s such a huge criticism.
“The problem a lot of actresses have with a lot of material is that the women aren’t written well, so it’s a huge compliment.”
Although serious things are dealt with in the show, you say it’s dark comedy. Is that throughout or just particular parts of the trilogy?
“There’s laughs throughout because it’s life.
“Life is comedy and tragedy.
“Go to an Irish funeral.
“There’s a lot of laughter at an Irish funeral, even at the saddest funerals.
“I think the best movies are like that as well.
“Even if they’re not defined as a comedy, there’s moments where you’re laughing.
“Films like Silver Linings Playbook, I think is a hilarious movie but it’s a drama.
“I hope people laugh because I love humour myself as a person.
“I think it’s in the writing, obviously in the performance.
“The characters don’t know it’s fun.
“The characters are going through the most serious moments of their lives.
“The big thing that people have been saying when they’ve seen Sibs is they felt like they were sitting in a sitting room while two people were having an argument and they felt uncomfortable.
“Similar with His and Hers.”
You have acting credits on big productions like Love/Hate, Black 47 and Vikings, have things like that inspired you to make your own stuff? Did you get encouragement from big names perhaps?
“I’ve been on set with all the Irish lads that have gone on.
“I’ve done something with Paul Mescal.
“I’ve done something with Barry Keoghan.
“They inspire me just by what they’ve done, not with their words or anything that was said.
“To see them go on and do what they’ve been doing, and I know there’s begrudgers but they’re literally playing the f**king Beatles.
“I just think it’s amazing.
“It just shows that it’s possible and that drives you on in the times when the phone’s not ringing and when opportunities are being passed over and you’re like, ‘Well, why wasn’t I seen for it?’ all the usual actor stuff.
“I’m driven on by I want to get back there. I want to be on film sets. I feel that’s where I belong.
“I’ve only really found the stage since moving to London because of the standard of productions here.
“It really gave me a love for it that I never had before which is another great reason why I moved to London and another great thing about being here.
“But being in shows, getting seen, getting my talent seen by the right industry people-that’s a that’s a big driver for this.
“I hope it happens.
“I want to be onstage at the National because I’ve gone to watch shows there.
“I want to be on stage at the National and I want to be back on a film set because that’s where I feel like I’m at home.”
This is your debut play, would you write another one?
“I have another one ready to go.
“It’s called Casting My Stalker.
“It’s about a casting process.
“This casting office get the big job for once, they’re usually casting ads but then they get a major blockbuster and the casting team are so excited about it.
“But the guy that they want for it, that they think is perfect for the lead role has been stalking one of the casting team for the last two years.
“It’s a real moral dilemma of professional success versus, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’
“So that’s the next, another dark comedy.
“I produced a short film that was in Galway and we have a feature film in development with Screen Ireland.
“I’m trying to spin a lot of plates to make things happen.”
What was the name of that short film you had at Galway Film Fleadh?
“It was called Genie by Grace Collender.”
Grace is well known as an actress and starred in Sing Street at Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith last year. What can you tell us about the feature film you are developing?
“We’re developing a feature film called Damien and Ella which is written by Anthony Moriarty.
“It’s about the foster care system in Ireland.
“It’s a dad and daughter who are separated for seven years and then he comes back into her life but she’s happy with her new family.
“It’s a beautiful script.
“We would be hoping to go for production funding and film that next year.”
Triptych is at Camden People’s Theatre 11- 12 August.
For tickets and more information, click here.
