Details

The show follows three family members along three separate timelines, each detailing their own personal struggle with mental illness: Christmas Eve. 1948. Deep in the heart of Galway, Eamonn, the fattest baby you've ever seen, is found abandoned in a manger. 70 years later, after struggling to make amends with his estranged daughter Sarah and grandson Ben, one final and fateful action leaves the next two generations of his family reeling. These timelines intertwine and merge to show how each family member's experience of mental illness haunts the others. Bromley Bedlam Bethlehem explores the little-known but urgent issue of how mental illness can spread throughout multiple generations, creating fresh trauma in a society unforgiving of those who do not fit the mould. In doing so the play also touches on society's continued omerta around suicide and mental health, particularly within the Catholic Church and in families of Irish heritage.

Creatives/Company

Author: Rachel Tookey