BELLTABLE will host the Bottom Dog Theatre Company world première of GRAVITY (A LOVE STORY) this week (February 16 – 19)
Written by award-winning Neil Flynn (The Snowman, Clocked) and directed by internationally acclaimed Conall Morrison, it is a story of love, time, fate and politics, which at its heart is a love story for the ages.
The play features characters both fictional and historical such as Joan of Arc, Charles Dickens and George Orwell, in a dazzling adventure across 20 locations (and the fourth dimension), spanning from the 15th to the 21st century.
Elaine O’Dwyer who stars in the play told Limerick Post that GRAVITY is a love story based in the fourth dimension.
“It’s from the mind of Neil Flynn, a very intelligent man who knows all about the physics and science of gravity. He has intertwined it cleverly with an actual love story.”
Do you need to have a science degree to understand it?
“Absolutely not’’ is the answer!
“It traces loads of characters and generations, there are 40 characters played by four people for the duration. It’s a two act play, and we’re basically taken on a gravitational journey through time, which is the fourth dimension in actual fact. It’s really exciting.”
It has a multitude of characters and is such a theatrical experience that people will really enjoy it.”
“We go to the states, we’re in England, Charles Dickens appears, Galileo is there, Joan of Arc is there, then you’re in 1916 with Liam Clark and the volunteers. It’s quite an experience.”
The play is directed by Conall Morrison (also directed hit plays, Haughey/Gregory and Woyzeck in Winter).
He describes the play as “a kind of magic carpet that takes us on a remarkable ride across time.”
“It’s a play that is as intellectually exciting as it is emotionally engaging. It manages to combine the entrancing natural magic of quantum physics with a love story that spans centuries.”
It’s a play of high ambition and rare accomplishment, and it’s the perfect piece for audiences who have been so long denied the riches that theatre can offer.”
Writer Neil Flynn, describes the premiere as a special moment for artistic director Liam O’Brien, Conall and himself.
“The journey to finally mounting the production has been an epic all of its own: fitting indeed for a play that stretches across time and space and beyond, bounded by cosmic mystery and timeless love.”
The play has been in the works since 2020 and right up to last month the cast weren’t sure if the theatre run would go ahead.
Elaine O’Dwyer says, “It was cast before Christmas, and because of all these new restrictions that were happening and new outbreaks, we were all like, oh, is this gonna happen at all?
“Thank God things were lifted. It’s just a relief for everybody involved.
The Belltable is now back at full capacity for bookings, the play runs from February 16 to 19 and everyone can have that full theatre experience.
“When you go to the play, you’re experiencing everything, you’re smelling it, you’re feeling it, you’re feeling the energy of people beside you, the gaps, the tears.
It’s the collective community of someone enjoying the same thing which is so lovely to be part of.
“It’s that idea of connection. It’s just so important when you’re with somebody in person.”
GRAVITY (A LOVE STORY) plays at the Belltable from February 16 – 19.
Previewing this Wednesday February 16. 8pm nightly with a 2pm matinee on Saturday February19. www.limetreetheatre.ie
