It is noon on August 15th, 1998, and on Lower Market Street, the lives of Lizzy, Mari and Conor are about to change forever.
Minute After Midday is a haunting production, reliving the memories of three very different people as the Omagh bombings brought their lives crashing together.
Originally created as a radio play, Ross Duggan’s script translates to the stage in the form of a series of emotional monologues. It is the fictionalized account of events that day, as told from a young girl, who survived the blast, a woman that lost her husband, and a young man responsible for planting the bomb.
Lizzy is an innocent young girl, with little more on her mind that day than a denim jacket in a shop window that she dreams of getting from her birthday. Mari tells the story of her life with her husband; from the night they met to the last time she saw him. Conor is portrayed without real prejudice against him. He is not shown as a monster, yet he is in no way pitied. It is for the audience to decide their verdict of him.
Despite being based on true horrifying events, Minute After Midday doesn’t dwell on the political reasoning behind it, courts or media coverage. It instead concentrates on how the Omagh bombings affected the family and friends of those killed, and the heartbreaking aftermath that they had to live with.
Told superbly by the talent young cast, and carefully directed with sentiment and understanding by Emily Reilly, Minute After Midday is heart-wrenching retelling of one of the biggest atrocities in Irish history.
