A Wilde Christmas at Roundwood House

Christmas at Roundwood House

The Remarkable Rocket and The Happy Prince
by
Oscar Wilde

Performed by Michael James Ford
Directed by Bairbre Ni Chaoimh

Sunday, Dec 17th , 2017 at 4pm in The Library of Civilisation
Price: €25 includes show, home-made mince pies & mulled wine
Booking: Call 0578732120 or Email info@roundwoodhouse.com

A Christmas Double Bill of Two of Wilde’s Greatest Stories

Roudwood House goes all Wilde

THE REMARKABLE ROCKET

The Remarkable Rocket is an outrageously funny exploration of vanity and pomposity. Written in 1888, The Remarkable Rocket was inspired by the egocentric personality of Wilde’s former friend, the artist James Mc Neill Whistler, who used to refer to himself as ” The Amazing One” and whose work Wilde once likened to ” a rocket…bursting in a perfectly blank sky.” The story tells of a boastful and self-deluded firework who lives in a fairytale world inhabited by a colourful array of characters, including a beautiful princess, a precocious page, a tone-deaf king, a phlegmatic frog and a broken-hearted Catherine wheel.

The Remarkable Rocket is a cautionary tale for all ages and this highly theatrical production was specially commissioned by The Enniskillen Oscar Wilde Festival.

…this small but perfectly performed production…is a joy to watch and listen to. Irish Times

…Ford never misses a beat as he tears through the characters in a demonstration of superb
storytelling. Irish Independent

…dazzles and delights…a sonorous and sparkling show. Daily Mail

Michael James Ford gives commanding performances

THE HAPPY PRINCE

The Happy Prince is perhaps the best loved and most enduringly popular of all Oscar Wilde’s stories, It is the bittersweet tale of a gregarious swallow who befriends a melancholy statue while en route to Egypt. The bird helps the Prince to alleviate the suffering of his poor citizens and in doing so learns profound truths about the nature of love and suffering.

…Michael James Ford has an enchanting style of storytelling that leaves the audience hanging on his every word. Sunday Tribune

…a shimmering piece, bleak and heartbreaking as well as ultimately hopeful.
Sunday Independent
…Michael James Ford is mesmerising as he carries us through Wilde’s perfect mixture of magic, exoticism, mundane reality and insensitive, shortsighted pragmatism and vanity. Irish Examiner

As leaps of the imagination go, this one is effortlessly propelled. Sunday Times