Can you ever really know someone? Can you know too much? Are there parts of ourselves we must simply reconcile with in silence?

This is your invitation to Michael Moriarty’s birthday party.

Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, A Very Odd Birthday Party is a new play by Hannah Donelon with live, traditional music. Join mother-to-be Eveline and her dad Michael Moriarty on a journey that penetrates the psyche, humour, and trauma of being a first and second-generation immigrant in the UK. A Very Odd Birthday Party revels in the complexities of family, working-class identity, and memory.

Directed by Anna Berentzen (Headlong Origins 2022; Royal Exchange; North Wall Theatre), a cast of actor-musicians tell a story filled with humour, suffering, loss, and hope for the future. Creative audio description will be embedded into the script with expertise from Chloë Clarke.

The play is being delivered in partnership with The Met and Liverpool Irish Festival, and is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and by funding from the Consulate General of Ireland, Manchester. A Very Odd Birthday Party was initially developed thanks to funding and support from The Production Exchange.

Hawkseed Theatre aim to support, celebrate, and develop new writing for the stage, and raise the voices of those often under or mis represented on stage.

Director Anna Berentzen;
Writer Hannah Donelon;
Audio Description Consultant Chloë Clarke;
Set & Costume Designer Ellie Light;
Sound Designer Charlotte Barber;
Lighting Designer Charly Dunford;
Stage Manager Sophie Rushworth;
Producers Sara Abanur & Lauren Cresswell;
Musical Supervisor Emma Sweeney;
Photographer, Videographer, & Marketing Support Aaron Howell;

Casting to be announced.