Water Cooler Chatter Just Tonie!

We’re excited to see our founder, the father of GCN, Tonie Walsh take to the Dublin Theatre Festival stage this month for a taster of his one-man show. (Photo by Dónal Talbot)

Brought to us by the people behind Panti’s various theatrical outings, and more recently the wildly successful RIOT, thisispopbaby, I Am Tonie Walsh came together through a “conflation of impulses,” according to the man himself.

“Director Philip McMahon found much of my contribution to Úna Mullally’s oral history (describing the road to marriage equality), In the Name of Love, hugely evocative and entertaining,” Walsh explains. “It also helped that he was impressed by the stories I’ve shared on my queer history walking tour of Dublin.”

The show will chronicle Walsh’s life as an ardent LGBT+ activist and “sexual outlaw,” while offering important life lessons for those yearning to make sense of the extraordinary and vital changes that have taken place in queer culture over the past half century.

The production also officers glimpses of a life lived pre and post decriminalisation, of “barely-remembered” protests and parties, and a celebration of those whose queer histories have been airbrushed from our historical narratives.

In terms of satisfying the curiosities of younger LGBTs born into a world of (relative) tolerance, and indeed, the curiosity of mainstream society as to the lived experiences (and boy, has Walsh lived!) of one of Ireland’s most impactful social justice campaigners, This is Tonie Walsh is a definite festival must-see before it gets ready to go into full production next year.

‘I Am Tonie Walsh’ will be performed on October 6 at 5pm at Project Arts Centre, as part of the In Development strand of the Dublin Theatre Festival, tickets from DublinTheatreFestival.com