Patrick J O’Reilly’s Dressed for Space is to receive its Northern Irish première on the rooftop of Belfast’s CastleCourt Shopping Centre as part of this year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival.
Written during O’Reilly’s residency with the Rotterdam Rooftop Days festival, Dressed for Space finds Simon, an alien living in disguise on Earth, hosting a farewell party on the eve of his departure for home.
First performed in Rotterdam in 2022 and subsequently seen across Europe in similar festivals, it is to make its belated Belfast debut.
The one-man show is described as “a deeply personal and uplifting story of belonging, difference, and the search for home [that] blends humour, heart and sci-fi wonder in a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience”.
It will be performed by O’Reilly, who trained at L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris and is currently Artistic Director of Belfast’s Tinderbox Theatre Company.
His adaptation and staging of Ionesco’s Rhino for the company was judged the Best Play Revival in the 2024 UK Theatre Awards. More recently he adapted and directed Lorca’s Yerma.
O’Reilly said, “I am over the moon to première the play in Belfast this year. Acceptance and celebrating difference are universal in theme and this story is my heartfelt wish to be-friend the alien in us all. To perform on a rooftop is a beautiful experience. Having the sky as a backdrop to my story creates a curious sense of awe, and I think we should be in awe everyday”.
Dressed for Space runs at the CastleCourt Shopping Centre, Belfast from May 8–10.