
Gerry Ryan's son set to play Gerry Hutch in one-man stage play next month
Rex Ryan will direct and perform the 65-minute stage production titled 'The Monk' when it opens at Glass Mask Theatre on Dawson Street next month.
The one-man show is set to centre around Hutch's 2022 trial at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin, where he stood accused of murder.
During the 52 days of evidence, the court heard testimony from various witnesses, including former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall, who claimed Hutch told him that he and another man had shot Kinahan cartel foot soldier David Byrne at the Regency hotel in 2016.
Dowdall was due to stand trial for murder alongside Hutch, but turned state witness and pleaded guilty to a facilitation charge.
The three-judge court found his evidence unreliable and acquitted The Monk.
While he walked free from the three-judge court, his co-accused, Paul Murphy (61), of Cherry Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin and Jason Bonney (50), of Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin 13, were found guilty of facilitating the murder.
'I done lots of crimes. Some of them I got caught. Some I got away with,' a description of the production reads.
'Rex Ryan plays one of the most compelling and polarising figures in modern Irish history, Gerard 'The Monk' Hutch.
'Centred around the trial at the special criminal court, join us in Glass Mask as we witness Gerry bear witness to a lifetime of alleged crimes, triumphs and misdemeanours.'
The Monk will be performed at the Glass Mask Theatre on Dawson Street from June 10 to 21.
Rex Ryan is the oldest son of former RTÉ presenter Gerry Ryan, who died in 2009.
He has one other brother, Elliot, and three sisters: Lottie, Bonnie and Babette.
Rex trained as an actor at The Gaiety School of Acting, appearing in TV shows, films and theatre productions.
He is also a writer and director, with his first short film, Funeral Song, garnering a nomination for best actor at the Richard Harris International Film Festival in 2021.
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