Written by Mark O’Halloran

Directed by Tamara Carroll

In this show I sought to balance the very different external worlds these two men come from with the intimacy of their current situation. Both of them are highly aware of how the world could perceive them, and are trying to convey a certain image of what masculinity means to them. Inhabiting this world meant a limited color palette of neutrals (beige, grey, navy), with the only visible pattern being the lines on their pants – with the younger man’s selected for fashion and the older man’s for function. But these straight, ordered lines contrast sharply with their present reality.

I wanted to amplify the generational gaps between these two, but still see the similarities of a working class upbringing and sometimes uncertain socio-economic status. Much of my research focused on the Irish working class, especially the dock workers and manual laborers of Dublin, and I have tried to hone in on the differences between the Irish and familiar US blue-collar workers to stay present in this B&B in north Dublin.