By Grace Hatchell, 2nd Act Couriers
There’s a particular kind of story that doesn’t just arrive at the theatre. It arrives carrying history.
Poor, based on Katriona O’Sullivan’s best-selling memoir, is set to open at the Belgrade Theatre from Friday 1 May to Saturday 9 May, following its run at the Gate Theatre. And before anyone sends a politely worded correction via carrier pigeon, yes, Dublin is not in the UK. But once a production packs its trunk, crosses the Irish Sea and sets up in Coventry, it becomes entirely deliverable to Theatre Village readers.
Adapted by Sonya Kelly and directed by Róisín McBrinn, Poor charts O’Sullivan’s extraordinary journey from a childhood marked by poverty, addiction and homelessness in Coventry and Birmingham, to earning a PhD from Trinity College Dublin. It is a story rooted in lived experience, community, survival and ambition, and one that feels especially resonant on the very stages that reflect her beginnings.
The cast brings serious pedigree. Aisling O’Mara takes on the role of ‘Katriona’, with Hilda Fay as ‘Tilly’ and Aidan Kelly as ‘Tony’. Their collective credits span respected institutions including Abbey Theatre, Druid Theatre Company and the Donmar Warehouse. The ensemble is completed by Sue Collins, John Cronin, Shauna Harris and Ben Morris, with Hollie Lawlor and Pippa Owens alternating as ‘Younger Katriona’.
Behind the scenes, the creative team includes set designer Aedin Cosgrove, costume designer Lara Campbell, sound designer and composer Sinéad Diskin, and music director Jess Williams. The production promises a staging that is intimate but emotionally expansive, reflecting both the hardship and the hope threaded through O’Sullivan’s life.
What makes this co-production between the Gate Theatre and the Belgrade particularly compelling is its geographic symmetry. This is a story that begins in Coventry and Birmingham, travels to Dublin, and now returns to Coventry transformed. There is something powerful about that theatrical full circle. It is not simply touring. It is homecoming.
The press release calls it a beacon of hope and resilience, and there is no shortage of those themes here. But beyond that, Poor looks set to spark discussion around social mobility, education, class and the quiet determination required to rewrite your own narrative.
Theatre, at its best, reflects us back to ourselves. Poor appears ready to do exactly that, with music, memory and a community of voices shaping the journey.
Poor runs at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry from Friday 1 May to Saturday 9 May, following its limited run at the Gate Theatre, Dublin.
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