THE STORY: Belfast is a place where things need to be said. Following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the guns were silenced but the chasm between the Republican and Unionist sides remains wide and bitter. Tonight, in a small back-street bar, while Northern Ireland plays Poland on the TV, Jimmy and Ian will meet for the first time. They share a violent past, and their conversation has been brewing for more than twenty years…
“[A] rage-filled, wounded, mournful play about terrorism, civil war and the damage that remains after the hatred cools…QUIETLY is a play about what happens when a society loses control. It’s a reminder that terrorism and demonization of the other have always been with us, and that where blood-soaked enmity is fostered for political gain, angry youths have always been ripe for recruitment.” —The New York Times.
“…an emotionally brutal 75 minutes of grief and white-hot rage, with the faint hope of peace…The play unfolds in real time with the tension and urgency of Greek tragedy…the terse, lean play grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. Over the years, I’ve seen plenty of pints drained and Irish woes recalled, but QUIETLY makes it seem as raw and wounding as yesterday.” —Time Out New York.
“[A] fine, tense piece of drama…A play about truth, courage and forgiveness, QUIETLY offers no easy answers…It’s deftly controlled in McCafferty’s taut writing and the precision of the encounter does not obscure the greater reach of the discussion: such life-long grief afflicts communities worldwide that have been scarred by conflict…McCafferty draws decades of entrenched loathing and anguish into this modest room.” —Financial Times (UK).
“Remarkable…inspired…the piece packs sweeping questions about forgiveness and accountability into a tightly plotted encounter.” —The Telegraph (UK).
