Tom Chandler & Maeve O’Haire – Night Light – Upstairs at the Gatehouse #Offies 2023 #NewNoms: MOST PROMISING NEW PLAYWRIGHT
Category:
Plays: Most Promising New Playwright
Year of Nomination:
2023
Nominee:
Nominee
Individual:
Tom Chandler & Maeve O’Haire
Production:
Night Light
Venue:
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Company:
Giggle Riot Theatre
What a fantastic show – funny, sad, real. The writing was very clever without being ‘clever’ and all the performances were fantastic with believable chemistry between the 4 characters.
I so agree! This piece is so well-written and performed – you ‘can’t see the join’ between script and performance, the whole thing is amazingly well-crafted! There’s a shed-load of talent in this company, they all (including writer and director) are clearly heading for the big-time before long. It’s so good to see a new young writer and cast with so much going for them. I just wish I’d seen this sooner, would have gone again!
This little gem really was a stunning surprise. Yes, it was very funny – we were never too far from a joke. But it was as also poignant, real and clever with great performances too. Better than most fringe I’ve seen! Well done to you all! You deserve all the plaudits.
Amazing play, superbly acted and beautifully crafted both hilarious with so many brilliant insights into the characters, it deserves to be seen by more people, it’s a gem!
The dialogue was fast pace and so clever! I was laughing the whole time but was also so invested in the relationships and the unspoken love story. I wanted more! I would definitely watch this again. Highly recommended!
Thoroughly enjoyed this show. Wonderful chemistry between the characters, funny sad and thoughtful. Very well written, smart and left you missing the characters and wanting to know what would be the next chapter….
Deserves to be seen more widely.
The dialogue was so well written! I was laughing the whole time but there were moments that created a sense of relatability and I was instantly invested in the group dynamics. Highly recommended!
I had a great time watching this show. The characters had an incredible chemistry that was both amusing, moving, and reflective. The writing was exceptionally well-crafted, intelligent, and it left me longing for more, curious about what the future holds for these characters. This show deserves to be seen by all
I don’t think I saw a single person leave this show who wasn’t grinning from ear to ear! I was aware it was a comedy but I didn’t expect to laugh that much. Aside from the humour, this show is beautifully written in a way that so many people can relate to the themes being explored on stage. Incredible!
Offering a similar experience to “The Unfriend”, with its unashamed, uncomplicated laughter, this production manages to create opportunities for both observational and physical comedy which the cast grasp with relish (and excellent timing). Despite its light touch it had lots to say about negotiating the journey to adulthood. I loved it (as did the whole audience on the night I visited)… and I’m assured the Irish accents are spot on!
I wasn’t expecting to laugh as much as I did at this show. Infact – I don’t think I saw a single person leave the theatre without a grin on their face from ear to ear. This was easily the best show I have seen all year and the themes have really stuck with me. So beautifully written, I just wish it went on for longer.
Funny, clever & beautifully crafted – Night Light is a joy to watch. Pitch-perfect dialogue, superb performances, and the set! Can’t wait to see what the writers do next.
One of the best new plays I’ve seen! Cannot recommend this enough. There wasn’t a moment when you weren’t either in fits of laughter or really connecting to these amazingly relatable characters – could have watched them ALL day!
Night Light captures the mood of our times completely. After emerging from the theatre, the audience gets the sense that nothing has happened yet everything has happened. Such skilled characterisation and hilarious physical and verbal comedy!
A well crafted and expertly executed play. I felt like I was a nosy neighbour peeking in on the lives of your struggling 20 somethings.
Despite the depressing setting, the play was energetic, funny and well-paced with perfectly timed moments of pause.
I believed in and and was rooting for all the characters. They were very well cast and very convincing. We have all met these hopeful but despairing young adults. I desperately wanted them all to have their dreams come true.
Really enjoyable evening at the excellent Gatehouse theatre to see Night Light, a laugh out loud play about 4 young people from different backgrounds living together in London, the interplay between them, the tensions and the heartache too. Maeve O’Haire, co writer and lead actor, stood out for me, you watched her constantly in the intimate space of the Gatehouse, her face revealing her emotions so well. Her Cork accent was brilliant too! The three other members of the cast similarly delivered. It was a refreshing reminder of how good an evening out at the theatre watching a well crafted and cleverly acted play can be.
Loved this! They will go far. Looking forward to their next production.
I was lucky enough to attend the reading for Night Light back in 2022. Even without the brilliant set and costumes, I was blown away by the fast-paced and clever dialogue as well as the amazing chemistry between the actors involved. When I heard it was being put on a year later, I instantly knew I had to see the full production on-stage. Safe to say I was just as impressed (if not more) the second time around. What struck me from conversations I had with people afterwards was how each character, while very different, is so relatable and funny in their own way. Well Done Giggle Riot on the well-earned nominations and I hope to see Night Light go further!
Outstanding, sidebreakingly funny, yet poignant, real, sad and happy! We all laughed out loud, cried at the end whilst still laughing. Brilliantly written and the acting and chemistry was out of this world. I went 3 times. I would love everyone to see it!
This was the best theatre I have seen for a long time . Reactions from not only me but the audience as a whole ranged from Laughing out load to holding my breath to hear what the characters replies were to “do you love love me?” Not many other productions can successfully demand such responses from their audience . I loved loved this production. I went twice. My only criticism is that I wanted to see more . The writing was so clever and witty and the performances were superb. They literally bounced off each other and were so well defined I believed I was looking in the window of that flat, watching a group of friends, fearful of growing up (with the land lad knocking loudly on the door !) Fantastic show, I can’t wait to see what comes next from these writers .
I feel privileged to have been in the audience on the opening evening. I loved this performance, so well written acted and produced, as a London Born person with an Irish mother the script resonated so much with my life experiencing laughing throughout it turned out to be one of best productions I have seen this year. The atmosphere at the end was electric with conversations late in the evening
I loved this play so much I went twice. It was even better the second time.
I laughed out loud on both occasions.
The writing is superb, sharp and witty, as the relationships are revealed. The acting was fantastic with each character clearly defined. The fast pace was broken only by well earned pauses when the audience on both nights were stunned into holding their breath waiting for the answer to “Do you ‘LOVE’ love me”?
The set was suitably shabby and the play is supported by a great soundtrack.
This is a gem of a play from an exciting company. Well done to all involved.
I had the pleasure of watching this play more than once during the run (7 times actually it was that good). And with every night the performances from all cast members got better and better. Every performance hit me harder than the last. It is clear to see the amazing chemistry the cast have with each other and that only adds to the comedy and emotion this play gives. No doubt I’ll be there again 7 more times for the next one! Well done guys, and deep heat
I loved this play. I’ve seen many fringe plays over the years and they’ve been mediocre at best but this was top notch! A sharp, funny script, well drawn and convincing characters, superb performances and excellent comic timing. It was only when I left that I realised it had been one long scene with no break but the actors didn’t miss a beat, and I didn’t even feel the time. One of the most enjoyable plays I have seen for a very long time! If it comes back I’m taking more people to see it!