On March 31 and April 1, 91原创 will host the U.S. premiere of God Has No Country, a one-man play written and performed by Irish actor Donal Courtney. The drama tells the story of Monsignor Hugh O鈥橣laherty, an Irish cleric in German-occupied Rome who used his Vatican connections to harbor Jews and escaped prisoners of war during World War II. Ultimately, he saved more than 6,500 lives.
Courtney will present the play at 7 p.m. on both nights, in Todd Theatre. There鈥檚 no admission charge. The , along with an acting workshop, are part of this spring鈥檚 .
Based in Dublin, Courtney has performed the show in Ireland for the last three years and will take it to Rome in the summer and to Singapore next fall. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just an Irish story,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 eager to see how it plays to a U.S. audience.鈥�
It鈥檚 a personal piece of art for Courtney. Like O鈥橣laherty, he was raised in Killarney鈥攂ut the elder man鈥檚 life story was unknown to him. 鈥淚鈥檇 gone to the same school, walked through the same streets, but I鈥檇 never heard of him,鈥� Courtney says. He discovered that his own grandfather, a tailor, had made suits for O鈥橣laherty.
鈥淭he more I researched, the more I realized I had in common with him,鈥� Courtney says.
But O鈥橣laherty, who died in 1963, was reticent about his heroism, and Courtney saw taking to the stage as an opportunity to make the priest鈥檚 story more widely known. Topical issues permeate the play: religion, war, and humanitarian crisis, among them. And Courtney expands upon those questions in lively discussions with audiences after each performance.
But he also has a strong regard for the sheer power of O鈥橣laherty鈥檚 tale.
鈥淎t the heart of it all, it鈥檚 just a good story,鈥� he says.
Courtney found his way to acting through his love of writing drama. A 1991 graduate of Ireland鈥檚 famed Gaiety School of Acting, the country鈥檚 national theater school, he began to study acting as a way of understanding playwriting. He has combined the two crafts ever since.
He鈥檚 an acting teacher, too鈥擜cademy Award nominee 鈥攁nd he鈥檒l offer a master class, 鈥淎cting Irish,鈥� that鈥檚 free and open to all. It will be held from noon to 4 p.m. at Sloan Studio in Todd Union on April 1.
The class will focus on Irish drama and the nature of Irish storytelling. 鈥淚rish theater has a different energy than English or American theater,鈥� he says. 鈥淎 lot of Irish theater isn鈥檛 action-based鈥攊t鈥檚 memory-based; it鈥檚 based on the telling of stories.鈥�
Storytelling is how the Irish 鈥渒ept our culture,鈥� he says, 鈥渢he oral passing down of stories. And that鈥檚 really where this play came from. I wanted it to be an oral version of the Monsignor鈥檚 story.鈥�
