Margaret Perry Archives - The Play Podcast

Margaret Perry

by Douglas Schatz | Mar 2, 2023 | Contributor

Margaret Perry

Margaret Perry is originally from Cork in Ireland, and now lives in London. Her debut play, Porcelain, was picked from the unsolicited script pile and produced by the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 2018. Porcelain masterfully interweaves the story of a new mother in London in 2017 battling post-natal depression, with the famous 19th century Irish tale of Bridget Cleary, whose husband murdered her claiming that she had been taken by fairies.

Her second play Collapsible started life at the Vaults Festival in London in 2019, going on to win awards at both the Edinburgh and Dublin Fringe Festivals, followed by a successful run at the Bush Theatre in 2020.

Margaret joins me to talk about her new play Paradise Now! after its acclaimed run at the Bush. The Telegraph said when Paradise Now! opened in December 2022 that it “might well be the best new play of the year.”

Podcast Episode(s)

059 - Paradise Now! , by Margaret Perry

Recommended Play(s)

Margaret recommended John by Annie Baker.

059 – Paradise Now! , by Margaret Perry

by Douglas Schatz | Mar 2, 2023 | Podcast Episodes

Paradise_Now_OLT_SALE_1200_600_px_2_nf61be

059 – Paradise Now! , by Margaret Perry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The subject of this episode is a scintillating new play written by Irish playwright, Margaret Perry, which as we recorded our conversation had recently completed an acclaimed run at the Bush Theatre in London. When it opened in December 2022 the Telegraph said that Paradise Now! “might well be the best new play of the year”.

Paradise Now! brings together a group of women who sign up to a pyramid selling scheme that promotes a range of body and home oils under the brand banner ‘Paradise’. The so-called “Essential” oils offer balm to a myriad of stresses in modern life, while also promising the team that sell them both wealth and a nurturing community of supportive colleagues. ‘Paradise’ is a parody of the well-being industry and of corporate culture generally, and it is a very funny and incisive satire. It is also an affecting exploration of private ambition and the search for self-worth and connection in our fractured world of social media and short-term success. The women who join the sales scheme are themselves looking for cures to challenges in their own lives, and the road to Paradise Now! is not so sure and smooth.

I’m delighted to be joined by Margaret Perry to talk about her perceptive, funny and moving new play.

Margaret Perry

Margaret Perry, like some of the characters in her new play, is originally from Cork in Ireland, and now lives in London. Her debut play, Porcelain, was picked from the unsolicited script pile and produced by the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 2018. Porcelain masterfully interweaves the story of a new mother in London in 2017 battling post-natal depression, with the famous 19th century Irish tale of Bridget Cleary, whose husband murdered her claiming that she had been taken by fairies.

Recommended Play

Margaret recommended John by Annie Baker.

Become a Patron!

Since I launched The Play Podcast in April 2020, I have managed to eschew any form of advertising or sponsorship, and I would like to continue to produce the podcast without doing so. I therefore invite you to help me to continue to make the podcast by becoming a Patron.
Additional benefits available to Patrons include Footnotes on the plays covered in the podcast, as well as exclusive access to The Play Review.

For details click here

Thank you very much for listening and for your support.
Douglas

The Texts

If you are interested in buying the play text or other related books, we’d be delighted if you choose to purchase them from our selected partners Bookshop.org and Blackwell’s. Not only will you be supporting independent booksellers, we will also earn a small commission on every book you purchase, which helps to keep the podcast going. Click on the cover to buy from our chosen partner. Thank you.

067 – Red Pitch by Tyrell Williams

Sep 27, 2023 | Podcast Episodes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tyrell William’s award-winning, debut play Red Pitch is set on an inner-city football pitch in South London. It is a coming-of-age story, with teenage boys fighting to believe in their dreams, and to find a way up, and perhaps out, of their changing community. The play premiered at the Bush Theatre in London in February 2002, winning several awards, and is currently enjoying a sell-out revival at the Bush.

Tyrell Williams, and the show’s director, Daniel Bailey, join me to explore this joyful and poignant new play.

Photo by Helen Murray.

066 – The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

Aug 23, 2023 | Podcast Episodes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Martin McDonagh’s 2004 play The Pillowman is an unsettling mix of gruesome fairy tales, child abuse, and murder, overlaid with McDonagh’s signature black humour. McDonagh’s blend of extreme violence and ironic comedy divides opinion, although the popularity of the current revival of the play in London’s West End is testimony to its enduring fascination.

I am joined in this episode by Professor Eamonn Jordan, to help us come to terms with the impact and intent of McDonagh’s work.

065 – Accidental Death of an Anarchist, by Dario Fo and Franca Rame

Jul 31, 2023 | Podcast Episodes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Franca Rame is both an hilarious farce and a biting satire. Written in 1970 as an “act of intervention” in response to the unexplained death of a prisoner in police custody in Milan, it became a huge global hit.

An acclaimed new adaptation that updates the setting and scandal to modern-day Britain is currently playing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, and I’m delighted to be joined by its writer, Tom Basden, and the director, Daniel Raggett, to talk about their adaptation and the enduring relevance of Fo’s original.