''A Night in November'' is a 1994

monodrama A monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character. In opera In opera, a monodrama was originally a melodrama with one role such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's '' Pygmalion'', which w ...

written by

Marie Jones Sarah Marie Jones (born 1951) is a Belfast-based actress and playwright. Born into a working-class Protestant family, Jones was an actress for several years before turning her hand to writing. Her plays have been staged on Broadway as well as ...

about one man's struggle with national identity during

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

in Northern Ireland.

Plot summary

''A Night in November'' follows Kenneth Norman McCallister, a Protestant dole clerk working in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He has "cleanly discriminated" against Catholics throughout his life, and indeed he gains much pleasure when he gets accepted into the golf club ahead of his Catholic boss. This continues until he witnesses the hatred directed towards the Catholic supporters of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

at a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying game against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

which causes him to question his beliefs and his identity as a British Protestant in Northern Ireland. The play shows how Kenneth deals with his identity crisis through

monologue In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...

s and

soliloquies Soliloquy (from Latin: "talking by oneself") is a device often used in drama. Soliloquy may also refer to: * ''Soliloquy'' (2002 film), a 2002 film by Jacques Zanetti, starring Diahnne Abbott and Drena De Niro * ''Soliloquy'' (McCoy Tyner album ...

as well as introducing numerous other characters for Kenneth to interact with, all played by the one actor. By the end of the play Kenneth travels to New York to support the Republic of Ireland at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

, and he has come to terms with his identity as an Irish Protestant. "I am a free man, I am a Protestant man, I am an Irish man"

Productions

On 8 August 1994 ''A Night in November'' was opened by DubbelJoint Productions in The Rock Theatre as part of the West Belfast Festival, starring Dan Gordon, directed by Pam Brighton, with a design by Robert Ballagh. This production toured widely, including a transfer to the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as n ...

, London and to the Douglas Fairbanks Theater in New York City. It won the Theatrical Management Association's award for Best Touring Production in 1995. Dan Gordon then reprised the role for the Lyric Theatre in Belfast in 2002 and toured to the Perth Festival in 2003. In 2001 Marty Maguire took on the role of Kenneth McCallister at the Celtic Arts Theater and Falcon Theatre, Los Angeles, directed by Tim Byron Owen. This production then toured to the Tricycle Theatre in London, the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

, and to the Gaiety Theatre and Liberty Hall in Dublin. It was staged again, at the Tricycle and the Irish Arts Centre, New York, in 2006. In August 2007

Patrick Kielty Patrick Kielty (born 31 January 1971) is a comedian, presenter and actor from Northern Ireland. He is the host of '' The Late Late Show'' on RTÉ One and presents a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 5 Live. His television credits include ...

starred in a production directed by Ian McElhinney in Belfast's Grand Opera House, which also played in

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged ...

. The play was staged in the

ADC Theatre The ADC Theatre (full name: ''Amateur Dramatic Club Theatre'') is a theatre in Cambridge, England, and also a department of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Park Street, north off Jesus Lane. The theatre is owned by a trust on be ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in November 2010 starring and directed by Michael Campbell. The play was staged in the Tivoli Theatre, Dublin. In 2019, the play was directed by Matthew McElhinney, son of the writer, for its 25th anniversary production, starring Matt Forsythe. It ran at the Lyric theatre Belfast and then went on an Irish tour. A digital production was produced for the Irish Arts Centre in New York during the COVID pandemic. The production then went on to the Chiswick Theatre London where it won an LPT award and secured two Offies nominations and continued on to the Minack before finishing its run at the MAC theatre Belfast.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Night in November 1994 plays Irish plays Republic of Ireland at the 1994 FIFA World Cup 1993–94 in Northern Ireland association football Monodrama

Plot summary

Productions

See also

References