When Derry playwright Brian Foster ignored a homeless woman begging in the street, the sense of guilt he felt afterwards compelled him to sit down and write his most successful play, Myra's Story.
And now, this autumn, his play is set to open in London’s West End, in the iconic Trafalgar Theatre. It will run from September 19 to October 18 in London, before playing Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre and then Belfast’s Grand Opera House on November 9 and 10.
Brian Foster explains the origins of the play: "Some years back I was down in Dublin on business. As I crossed Ha’penny Bridge I spotted, ahead of me, a woman sat on a piece of cardboard, begging. I hurried past her, pretending to talk into my mobile.
"As I passed I gave her a quick glance as she held out her plastic cup. She was maybe mid-forties, with high cheek-bones and piercing green eyes. Her bruised face still showed traces of a past beauty. Back in the comfort of my hotel, I wondered who she was? What life had thrown at her that caused her to end up like that?
"I returned to the bridge within the hour, hoping to clear my conscience with a small donation. But she was gone. All that remained was her empty plastic begging cup lying on the grubby piece of cardboard on which she’d squatted."
Back home in Derry he couldn’t get that tragic lady’s face out of his head, and his sense of guilt he felt for ignoring her compelled him to begin writing.
His original stage play, Maire: A Woman of Derry played around the world for 145 performances from 2001 until 2013, when its actress Carmel McCafferty retired.
Foster took the opportunity to give the story a whole new lease of life, moving the story from Derry to Dublin and changing other elements, including changing the homeless woman's name to Myra.
With Dublin actress Fíonna Hewitt-Twamley Myra's Story has been a phenomenal success, being a big hit of the last three Edinburgh Fringes.
"The story depicts a day in the life of middle-aged homeless alcoholic, Myra McLaughlin, living rough on the streets of Dublin. As she begs from passers-by she relives her backstory, playing all the characters, male and female, that have coloured her life. Acting out all the incredible twists and turns of fate that led her to alcoholism and destitution. Audiences laugh and cry (often at the same time) as Myra sweeps them along on a real rollercoaster ride of emotions. Hers is the face we so often turn away from, pretending not to see, just as I did to my shame that cold December day."
Although set in Dublin, the story of homelessness, addiction, heartbreak, and hope could take place in any town, in any city, with audiences relating to the damaged character they see up on stage. Myra is their sister, their brother, their mother their father. Myra is any one of them ... any one of us ... there but for the grace.
