Wycherley brings Paddy Armstrong play to Mullingar
Don Wycherley and his successful one man show ‘The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong’ are coming to Mullingar Arts Centre on Friday May 2.
Wycherley is well known for his roles in film and television productions including ‘Father Ted’, ‘Ballykissangel’, ‘Bachelor’s Walk’, ‘Veronica Guerin’ and ‘Sing Street’. He has also had a stellar stage career since he began in the Abbey Theatre in the early 1990s.
The play, which details the life and memories of Paddy Armstrong (one of the four falsely convicted of the Guildford and Woolwich bombings), has received widespread critical acclaim and standing ovations.
The Irish Independent called the show “perfect… unmissable”; and the Irish Times described Wycherley as “incandescent in this journey from disaster to redemption”.
Paddy Armstrong is no stranger to adaptations surrounding the events of his life. The 1993 classic ‘In the Name of the Father’ told the story of the Guildford four, primarily focusing its attention on Gerry Conlon.
This play is based on the book ‘Life After Life: A Guildford Four Memoir’ by Paddy Armstrong and Mary-Elaine Tynan.
This adaptation from the minds of Mary-Elaine Tynan and Don Wycherley focuses less on the events surrounding the false incarceration, and more on the character of Paddy Armstrong, the tragedy he faced and the triumphs he achieved throughout his life.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Don Wycherley said: “This is a different version of the story. This is Paddy’s version.”
He hopes with this play people will “get the full essence of the man’s life. He’s a very funny character and that didn’t get across in earlier stuff. He deflects constantly from the heavy-jelly stuff.”
Tynan and Wycherley reflect that side of Paddy’s personality through the contrast between comedy and the traumatic experiences he endured to form a chaotic blend that works well.
It is still a tragic story and it involves a time in history that many might like to forget.
Don Wycherley understands the natural desire to forget tough times in our history. “People are a little apprehensive. Of course there is tragedy but people will get the laughs as well as the lows, the more serious stuff. You get a bit of both. It is an important story to tell.
“It is full of humour. He’s a kind-hearted man.
“It’s quite uplifting. People have come out and said, God what a journey! They feel they have gone through it.”
If you would like to experience Paddy’s life with, mark May 2 on your calenders for Mullingar Arts Centre.
Further information available at lifeandtimesofpaddy.com and mullingarartscentre.ie.
• For clarity, this article was written by Brian Wycherley, nephew of Don, who has done work experience with the Westmeath Examiner in the past, and contributes occasionally to the paper.