Do You Come From Gomorrah?

Written by Frank McGuinness Peacock Stage, Abbey Theatre 2026

***** The Irish Times ***** The Irish Mail on Sunday **** The Guardian

Sarah Baxter directs this tour de force with sensitivity and tight focus - The Irish Mail on Sunday

Under Sarah Baxter’s direction, Do You Come From Gomorrah? remains consistently engaging over the course of 75 minutes. Monologue plays seldom strike such an effective balance between introspection and exposition. - The Irish Times

a superb, challenging, and frightening but funny piece of work ***** Theatre And Tonic

“I do not like the past. It is not kind to me. It does not belong to me.”

Do You Come From Gomorrah? is a memory play, one man’s elegy to a younger self who survived impossible circumstances.

 In this world premiere, written by Frank McGuinness and performed by Ryan Donaldson, over the course of 75 minutes, we meet a man who has come through a terrible experience with enough humanity left that he can tell us about it.

This story is a testimony of all people who have been abused by those in authority, a protest against cruelty. Exploring the strangeness and contradictions of 1970s Ulster, it registers the damage done and celebrates the act of survival.

Cast : Ryan Donaldson

Production Credits Writer - Frank McGuinness Director - Sarah Baxter Producer- Aoife McCollum Set and Costume Design - Alyson Cummins Lighting Design - Sinéad McKenna Composer - Tom Lane Sound Design - Martha Knight Assistant Set and Costume Designer - Mar Parés Baraldés Production Manager - Michael Lonergan Company Stage Manager on book - Tara Furlong Photography by Ros Kavanagh