Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party Irish Tour 2025

After a sold-out premiere in Limerick, Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party, a darkly funny and emotionally charged new play, tours to nine leading venues across Ireland this autumn, following a three-night run at the Lime Tree Theatre.

Written by Liam McCarthy and directed by Joan Sheehy, Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party follows Jack, whose brief, passionate kiss with Jilly Morgan at her birthday party in 1983 becomes a lifelong obsession. This moment, fleeting but transformative, shadows him through four decades of love, fantasy, and regret. Set against the backdrop of a changing Ireland, the play is a hauntingly humorous exploration of memory, desire, and the myths we build around ourselves.

Inspired by Anton Chekhov’s short story The Kiss, the production reimagines the original into a sharp, time-bending work that blends emotional honesty with inventive theatricality.

Premiered to ★★★★ reviews in The Irish Times and Feeling Good, audiences have praised the play’s raw truth, poignancy, and wit:

“Pivoting from laughs to darkness and back again. Extraordinary performances and beautiful writing.” 

“Brilliant, powerful, moving and funny.” 

JILLY MORGAN’S BIRTHDAY PARTY – AUTUMN 2025 TOUR SCHEDULE:

Limerick – Lime Tree Theatre: Thursday 11 – Saturday, 13 Sept
Dún Laoghaire – Pavilion Theatre: Wednesday, 17 Sept
Sligo – Hawk’s Well Theatre: Tuesday, 23 Sept
Longford – Backstage Theatre: Thursday, 25 Sept
Galway – Town Hall Theatre: Saturday, 27 Sept
Cork – The Everyman: Tuesday, 30 Sept
Ennis – glór: Thursday, 2 Oct
Tralee – Siamsa Tíre: Saturday, 4 Oct
Portlaoise – Dunamaise Arts Centre: Tuesday, 7 Oct
Waterford – Theatre Royal: Friday, 10 Oct

Creative Team: 
Writer – Liam McCarthy
Director – Joan Sheehy
Set & Lighting Design – Paul Keogan
Sound Design – Tom Lane
Costume Design – Gemma Morris
Dramaturg – Darren Murphy
Movement Consultant – Myles Breen
Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party is presented by Lime Tree Theatre | Belltable with support from the The Arts Council of Ireland / An Chomhairle Ealaíon