Nuns’ Chorus

In 1950s Ireland an enclosed order of Carmelite nuns must endure an ‘enforced holiday’ in Galway Bay for seven days and seven nights. Placed in the care of the kindly Father Lemas, the nuns, having very reluctantly left the convent for the first time in many years, explore the paths which led them to convent life, and to a deepening understanding of the meaning of their sisterhood. This is a sensitive, honest, at times funny, at times deeply moving journey through a very challenging part of Ireland’s story. The play also includes Irish music, song and dance, and references to great Irish literature. Written by Sally Mulready OBE, who lived from the age of 4 to 16 in a Catholic convent in Dublin, the play gives a rare look at the stories behind the nuns, with an honesty about the lives and motivations of these women who played such a big role in the social, political and religious history of Ireland.