Halcyon Days (NHB Modern Plays)

By Deirdre Kinahan

An uplifting, bittersweet drama set in a nursing home, celebrating friendship and the human spirit.
A nursing-home conservatory. Sean sits alone, abandoned to his memories. In storms Patricia, a feisty woman with a zest for life and for handsome men in wheelchairs. A wary intimacy develops between the two, an unforeseen relationship, by turns charming and combative, tender and funny.
Infused with wry humour and humanity, Deirdre Kinahan's Halcyon Days is a celebration of our quest for meaning in even the most seemingly hopeless of circumstances.
'a touching drama... what distinguishes Kinahan's play - what gives it its pulse - is its finely-drawn characters' - The Irish Times
'straightforwardly honest and touching... there's a wonderful balance between humour and poignancy here, and even within the humour, a rich blend of both unintentional hilarity and insightful wit' - Entertainment.ie

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Release date: May 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781780017808

Deirdre Kinahan

Deirdre Kinahan is an award-winning playwright and a member of Aosdána, Ireland's elected body of outstanding artists. Her plays include: An Old Song, Half Forgotten (Abbey Theatre, 2023); Outrage (Fishamble, 2022); The Visit (Draiocht, Dublin Theatre Festival 2021); The Saviour (Landmark Productions, 2021); In the Middle of the Fields (Solas Nua DC, 2021); Embargo (Fishamble 2020); Dear Ireland (Abbey Theatre, 2020); The Bloodied Field (Abbey Theatre 2020); Rathmines Road (Fishamble and Abbey Theatre, 2018); Crossings (Pentabus Theatre, 2018); The Unmanageable Sisters, an adaptation of Michel Tremblay's Les Belles Soeurs (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 2018); Wild Sky (Dublin, 2016); Spinning (Fishamble, 2014); Halcyon Days (Solstice Arts Centre, Co. Meath, and Dublin Theatre Festival, 2012); and Moment (Solstice Arts Centre, Co. Meath, 2009; Bush Theatre, London, 2011).

Book preview

���Kdbook_preview_excerpt.html�Vے�F���w�����6Y�]���XjI�Ggfd���^����Kr�%�kB��0����s��<[?���qY��0]�g�`ek"6�Dk�5�d]{�͘f!E:�&�й��[6����J�����'O��H8c�A�S�`cE�������يf�qG7�r�� �|A�b�h��6���el��|O%�&�J�&��������;~�}l2�tͦ�{�}�)��|~^�`��A ֆ-�/gWt�r��������P� �����{?���8_��v��rv5l�_�U��L~��A�[���
� ��&rؘ�C'(j�mSR�k��c�x��h��/4�9�N���a8���ڄ�᭏{&��ɬ9���h[٬")"�V+�ͣ%�-s3A�+�$�Yy�K�RՄ���%t��eD�
�5�FΧt[��������/�؉��mq�i��C���]�l�!�lG�D��p�H�%[�RBH��������&Ȧ�lX36^aQ"4����ZM_���� �-
�s :T�M�Z� �w��� ���4�u��j6}�Jpw(�h ��}M�S��n
K�- `��d�5�� ���*�YG�x��_����i�f�����I��V8��ֈ�3����j��h�l1S��.���Zc����?�p�,��BˍJ��u_�4*=N:�w�wG0��KS*� ��.��'X�
9�����(اЖ��[���gU��az���c'�W�E�͠��c&��6i��]�=ƀ z|R��0�#���4dƵ���/�m\ϕm����b����r���.�aI ���0�u�Y�$#[J���a���(D ` !S����
�B��ZA�K���j���=��N�8 4V��6"�����o7{�z�6���k��O��W�9�(��F��Z@5 >%����:�F������aie��`�gh�|B���-)I��<$ߴQ6��Bע5�AAP2�����+�B= ��mY%���J�Q����<�7�.�h���?�1�����)�ę ���F.`m���nM5���s2�"�#1�/ψ��Vth��l�Eq����$�\8�=?jd�[�T��Y�R�%c��}�6�gP�5g���b�?*S:����nO䨄q���eJc���.�����}�6/�sɋN�W�2�tt�ַ�K���Q�P��D�+�>�'�L]���Oz�e�U�s ���;_Z�0�\xvz�����B�ܬ0��%նie��d̛Joq�t��� ��F�r����A�1����K�r\wjvOs:��WkY��^ٸR(�4v�����=;��]%b��oO����>E뎀��WG�~ڠx��J�V�;�E?�A��r�1K��������_f���