THE STORY: It’s New Year’s Eve and most of the party guests are in the kitchen admiring photos of their babies. But two lonely strangers find themselves cut off from the rest. Jane was invited because she knows the people in the kitchen. Tim was invited because he painted the kitchen. Jane drunkenly asks Tim, “What are you doing for sex tonight?” And a few weeks later she calls him with some unexpected news: she’s pregnant…
“…a refreshing take on a casual coupling and pregnancy…Peppered with sharp dialogue and witty one-liners, the script hovers between tragedy and comedy as O’Reilly emphasizes the chasm that divides the pair while tracing the ongoing development of their unlikely relationship…this well-written drama looks likely for future productions this side of the Atlantic. “ —Variety
“[O’Reilly’s] play is a voyage of discovery…His handling of dramatic action is so obviously skillful…a piece of theatre whose power lies in its refusal to pretend. It is what it is: the bones of a play, exposed to the light that shines through it, but identifiably, unmistakeably human. Christian O’Reilly’s brilliant THE GOOD FATHER…tap[s] the emotions as few plays do, probing the minds and confusions of two people in trouble with life and each other.” —Irish Times.
“[THE GOOD FATHER’s] hilarious banter has the audience in stitches for the better part of two hours and still doesn’t interfere with the characters’ emotional development. This is inescapable, electric dialogue…THE GOOD FATHER portrays a relationship that shouldn’t happen, but must, and it drags two people, whether they like it or not, from scepticism, to love, to grief, and to hope…O’Reilly handles the painful turbulence of a modern relationship with remarkable skill, as well as displaying considerable understanding of human psychology…O’Reilly’s dialogue is crisp, incisive and intelligent, and hangs like a garland around the mundane depths of daily misery and pain…It’s the substance of every romantic tale that’s ever been told and yet it shines through as if new, thanks to writing that skims along at breakneck pace.” —Irish Independent.
“THE GOOD FATHER is a play that will have you laughing one moment and crying unabashedly the next.” —Poughkeepsie Journal.
