In February 2016 we were lucky enough to get two cancellation tickets for the sell out performance of The Man in Woman's Shoes written and performed by Mike Murfi at the Hawkswell theatre in Sligo. Every now and then we find something which is particularly memorable. It was originally commissioned by the Hawk's Well in conjunction with Sligo County Council Arts Services for the Beltaine Festival 2012. Winner Zebby Award (Irish Writer's Guild) for Best Teatre Script 2013 Winner Stewart Parker BBC Radio Drama Award 2013 Nominated for Irish Times Theatre New Play awards 2014 IF you ever get a chance to see this.......GRAB with both hands. …
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The Blues
STOP SMOKING.......More than 90% of people who go cold turkey fail. Professional group therapy or counseling achieves an initial cessation rate of 60-100% and a 1-year cessation rate of approximately 20%. The reasons are many and the failure rate has to be significant of something. Not very insightful, I hear you say, of course it's due to something. It's the 'what' part which matters. In order to find out why we still smoke, and what compels us to continue smoking requires a period of self examination. We can either do this ourselves or enlist the services of professional help. Either way we hope to arrive at a eureka moment. There is much talk of arriving at the place where we are seriously and sincerely motivated to stop. In order for this to happen we have to first locate the other force, apart from addiction, which drives our desire to continue indulging tobacco . A period of self examination is never a bad thing but ignore the findings at your peril. Diet on Monday, stop smoking, cut out alcohol? Every Monday millions say something of the sort. They we counter optimism by reasoning it's not a good time to 'quit' because we are stressed, going on holiday, working too hard. Many a 'quit' date comes and goes? Continual failure brings self loathing. So enough procrastination, I have indulged a period of self examination and accept the fact I have an addiction to nicotine and also a deeper motive to self destruct which I recognise is linked to a coping mechanism in my teens. From here I speak for me not the masses. I was adopted. I then adapted to a world full of expectation. I failed probably due to the cognitive dissonance which raged inside. Nicotine was the new escape route which replaced self-harm . No more burns, scratches, cuts only inhaling toxins to cope with life as I knew it. …
Words Don’t Soothe
Words Don't Soothe Night after night, week after week and month after month, they begged for their names not be forgotten. To be remembered as part of your world and not only in minds of children. They need us to know. You need not have been born in our land to conceal their blood in your veins. Dawn stirs on the horizon as contemplated words scream obscenities across a virgin page. In a letter to the man responsible for her conception. There is the pleasure beauty brings in nature at work in a scented forest. Or sorrows washed away in the tide Where the monster lurks beneath uncharted waters to reach the sewer. Footprints in the sands of time become etched in the sordid depths. Compared often to the inferno of hell cannot bring forgiveness to mend the past. Or heal their hearts or soothe a soul. A woman cannot be shamed for the fire that rages in her heart, or forced into silence preventing freedom to sore like an eagle. When poisoned with truth she stores things that are hard to say. No words to soothe or stop murky tears from falling over her country. Only confrontation with this dark shadow will release it's evil? By Honor Donohoe …