New play about iconic radio star Frankie Byrne

Dear Frankie, a new play by Niamh Gleeson, with Nuala Hayes as Frankie Byrne visits the Mullingar Arts Centre on Thursday, October 14.Five Lamps Theatre Company present Dear Frankie, a new play about the life and times of Frankie Byrne, the iconic Radio Eireann agony aunt. The play celebrates her eclectic life, her infectious humour, her sparkling career carved from her own drive for a less humdrum life than 1950s Ireland expected her to live.Dear Frankie also follows her deep sorrows, the secret she hid from the public for so many years, her descent into alcoholism and her steely rise out of the dark to a contentment and acceptance.There’s a whole generation of Irish people who can hum the signature tune to Frankie Byrne’s radio programme! They easily quote the opening lines “It may not be your problem today, but it could be someday!”Frankie’s programme may have finished up nearly thirty years ago, but it is part of the soundtrack to Irish lives in that era. Frankie’s sexy, gravelly voice was heard in almost every kitchen at lunch-time, in a time when schoolchildren and men came home to mammy for dinner in the middle of the day.Frankie Byrne carefully walked the line between giving as much practical advice as she could, yet maintaining a nationwide code of silence about certain matters. “Talk to your mother...” she urged. “Soon!”Tickets for Dear Frankie are on sale from the Mullingar Arts Centre box office on 044 9347777 or from reception on Mount Street.