Twenty Minutes From Nowhere by Chris Kelly, starring Eoin O’Sullivan, directed by Martha Fitzgerald

This play deals with almost tangible loneliness of a trapped, frustrated existence, a scenario that is deep-rooted in Irish theatre and literature, through Friel and Murphy to Kavanagh.

On the isolated family farm, twenty minutes from the nearest one-street village, with its church, pub and one shop, the thirty-four-year-old is facing a critical decision, free at least nominally, now that both parents are dead. He gazes at the stars but finds no poetry or magic in their glimmer, only a reflection of the remoteness of his location and the cold emptiness of his emotional life. An outsider at school, he remembers his disastrous first kiss with a girl whose face felt “too soft” and when he goes on to tell us of his confused adolescent longing, as he realises that he is gay and that his physical isolation is intensified by the lack of any meaningful relationship in his life.

Working alongside his father all day, he rarely had the chance to leave the farm while the village pub offered only the company of old men, whose sole topic of conversation is the weather forecast, and a younger crowd of “lads” to whom he cannot relate. As a young man, encouraged by his parents to “do his Leaving”, there seemed the possibility of a different kind of future but, in reality, as the only son of farming parents, he knew he was never going to be able to leave the farm.

O’Sullivan’s nuanced performance captures both the frustration and the tenacity of someone caught between the conflicting needs of a young man for a meaningful relationship and a feeling of obligation to support his parents. In the world of social media and dating apps, he longs to find a partner. However, the cyber world doesn’t suit everyone – or every location.

All events or shows will be filmed or photographed. Buying a ticket affirms your consent to the filming, sound recording or photographing of yourself as a member of the audience. Photography and recordings are strictly forbidden without permission of the Listowel Writers' Week Literary Festival Management.