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Irish Post
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Joyce's Dublin comes alive on stage in Volta Theatre's new production
THE Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith will host the UK premiere of two compelling stage adaptations from James Joyce's short story collection Dubliners this weekend. Counterparts and A Little Cloud will run at the west London venue today, Friday, July 11 and tomorrow Saturday, July 12. Presented by Volta Theatre Company, the double bill offers an intimate, affecting portrait of early 20th-century Dublin, with live period music enriching the atmosphere. Jim Roche and Liam Hourican star in the Volta Thetre Company production Performed by Jim Roche and Liam Hourican, who also adapted and directed the production, these "slices of life" explore themes of paralysis, yearning, and quiet desperation—hallmarks of Joyce's early work. In Counterparts, a frustrated law clerk spirals into a night of drink-fuelled rage. Farrington, the protagonist, is humiliated by his boss. Unable to assert himself at work, he seeks solace in the pubs of Dublin, drinking heavily and boasting to friends. In the story Joyce paints a bleak portrait of masculine insecurity, paralysis and cyclical abuse. The story is evoked beautifully but disturbingly by Roche and Hourican. In A Little Cloud, a melancholic office worker is stirred to bitterness by a reunion with a more successful friend. Joyce's story follows Little Chandler, a timid Dublin clerk who reunites with his old friend Gallaher, now a worldly journalist living in London. Their meeting triggers Chandler's envy and self-doubt. While Gallaher boasts of his freedom and exploits abroad, Chandler is left brooding over his own constrained life — his poetry ambitions abandoned, his dull routine, and his sense of entrapment in marriage and fatherhood. The double bill opens this evening The show, which recently enjoyed a sell-out run at Bewley's Theatre in Dublin, has been praised for bringing Joyce's characters vividly to life. Irish Times columnist Frank McNally described it as 'a superb dramatised introduction to one of the greatest short-story collections in world literature'. Writing in the Irish Independent, Katy Hayes said the production was 'a delightful pair of stories… beautifully dramatised.' The stories are accompanied by live music from acclaimed Irish musicians Feilimidh Nunan (keyboard and violin) and Conor Sheil (clarinet), both of whom regularly perform with Ireland's leading orchestras and in theatre, film and jazz ensembles. Volta Theatre was founded by Roche and Hourican, long-time collaborators in Irish theatre and television. Hourican's stage credits include the Old Vic and Shakespeare's Globe, while Roche has appeared in Normal People, Harry Wild, The Tudors, Dead Still, and many more. The 60-minute show is suitable for ages 12+. About Dubliners FIRST published in 1914, Dubliners is James Joyce's groundbreaking collection of fifteen short stories depicting ordinary life in the Irish capital at the turn of the 20th century. Written in a spare, realist style, the stories explore themes of paralysis, routine, missed opportunity, and quiet despair — all under the looming shadow of colonialism, religion, and societal expectation. Joyce's characters range from timid schoolboys and worn-out housewives to failed revolutionaries and frustrated civil servants. Despite their modest surroundings and everyday struggles, they are drawn with extraordinary psychological depth. The collection opens with childhood tales like The Sisters and An Encounter, progresses through adolescence and maturity in stories such as A Little Cloud and Counterparts, and culminates in The Dead, widely regarded as one of the finest short stories ever written in English. At the time, Dubliners was considered controversial for its unflinching portrayal of Irish life, and publishers were wary of its frankness. But today it is celebrated for the very qualities that once made it difficult to print: its honesty, precision, and emotional subtlety. With Dubliners, Joyce laid the foundation for modernist fiction — and painted a portrait of Dublin that still resonates more than a century later. The Volta Theatre Company has a resonance with The Volta Electric Theatre Ireland's first dedicated cinema. store. In the early 1900s, demand for moving pictures was fierce and cinemas were springing up all over the world. After living in Trieste, James Joyce was determined to bring cinema to Ireland, so after receiving the backing of his Italian[1] friends, he set up the Cinematograph Volta on Mary Street, Dublin. Counterparts & A Little Cloud, Fri 11 July - Sat 12 July 2025 at Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith. Presented by Volta Theatre Company. Running time: 60 minutes | Age guidance: 12+. Click here for tickets.
South Wales Guardian
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Ncuti Gatwa: The Sex Education star who brought a flirty-spin to the Doctor
His path to success has been a long and winding one, with struggles with depression and homelessness, before landing the role of a lifetime and a dream for thousands of young actors. The 32-year-old took on the role of the Time Lord previously filled by Matt Smith, David Tennant – who was brought back to be the 14th Doctor where he ushered in a bi-generation storyline that led to Gatwa becoming the 15th Doctor – and actress Jodie Whittaker. Born in Rwanda before moving to Scotland, where he was raised, Gatwa began his career as an extra on the 2014 sitcom Bob Servant. In 2016, he played Demetrius in a production of A Midsummer's Nights Dream at Shakespeare's Globe, before his big break came when he was cast in Sex Education as Eric Effiong, a young gay British-Nigerian who is best friends with Otis, the show's lead character. The Netflix show, which ran from 2019 until 2023, documented Eric's growth as he deals with his family's acceptance of his sexuality while he embraces his Nigerian heritage. He also falls in love with Adam (Connor Swindells), who bullied him in the first series, and has ups and downs in his friendship with (Otis Milburn) Asa Butterfield. However, Gatwa's seemingly meteoric rise, which led to him being cast in the 2023 blockbuster Barbie, has been far from plain sailing. Writing in The Big Issue in May 2020, he said he ended up homeless after running out of savings in the months before he landed his role in Sex Education. 'Being a 25-year-old man with no money or job affected my sense of self-worth,' he wrote. 'Rejection became unbearable. Auditions weren't just acting jobs, they were lifelines.' He continued: 'One friend gave me money towards paying off the prior month's rent and offered to let me move into their spare room rent free for a while. 'Great, I thought. An opportunity to get back on my feet and start paying people back. 'On moving-in day, he changed his mind. As I was standing on the street with my suitcases, one thought came into my head: 'I'm homeless'.' While everything appeared fine to the outside world, Gatwa was losing weight because he could not afford to eat properly. 'To the outside world everything seemed fine. I was temping at Harrods,' he wrote. 'I'd wake up from the double bed I shared with my best friend, leave the house without a hair out of place in a slick-looking trench coat and polished brogues. 'I would get compliments for looking so presentable. When I lost weight due to eating only one meal a day, people told me how lean and healthy I looked.' In reality, Gatwa had developed depression, though he kept it from his friends out of fear of being a 'burden', and later worked through the mental health condition. He joined Doctor Who in 2023 when Russell T Davies, who was behind the programme's 2005 revival, took over from showrunner Chris Chibnall – who steered Whittaker's run and worked with her and Tennant previously on Broadchurch. Gatwa's turn in the science fiction show was praised by reviewers for his first season's starting episodes Space Babies and The Devil's Chord. The Guardian said that he 'will make this show far more fun than it's been for years', praising him for being 'naturally able to express the dazzling extremes' of the character, while The Times said he 'sparkles as a charismatic Doctor with otherworldly energy'. However, Davies, who had success with Channel 4's It's A Sin and Queer As Folk as well Doctor Who spin-offs The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood, has recently faced accusations that he has pushed the show in a 'woke' direction. A small number of social media critics have pointed to the diversity of the cast, a drag queen villain, and introduction of transgender and non-binary characters. However, both he and Gatwa have strongly dismissed this criticism as from a minority, with Davies telling BBC Radio 2's 20 Secrets From 20 Years: 'Someone always brings up matters of diversity. 'And there are online warriors accusing us of diversity and wokeness and involving messages and issues. 'And I have no time for this. I don't have a second to bear (it). Because what you might call diversity, I just call an open door.' Gatwa told Attitude magazine in 2024 that the hateful comments the sci-fi show has received after casting a black man is 'fascinating, because there's so much energy they're putting into it … I think they need to go find a hobby is one thing'. During his time, he has had companions in the form of Andor actress Varada Sethu, and former Coronation Street actress Millie Gibson, who played Gatwa's companion Ruby Sunday since the 2023 Christmas episode The Church On Ruby Road. Highlights have included a Regency-themed episode that saw him have a burgeoning romance with the character Rogue, played by Mindhunter actor Jonathan Groff, the explosive Boom episode and the arrival of the classic Time Lord villain, the Rani. Since Doctor Who, Gatwa has been in a re-imagined version of Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest at the National Theatre, and is set to be in West End play Born With Teeth – which re-imagines the relationship between rival playwrights Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. He has also been in the Second World War show Masters Of The Air with Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan, and the upcoming The Roses with two-time Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, and Academy Award-winner Olivia Colman.
Leader Live
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Ncuti Gatwa: The Sex Education star who brought a flirty-spin to the Doctor
His path to success has been a long and winding one, with struggles with depression and homelessness, before landing the role of a lifetime and a dream for thousands of young actors. The 32-year-old took on the role of the Time Lord previously filled by Matt Smith, David Tennant – who was brought back to be the 14th Doctor where he ushered in a bi-generation storyline that led to Gatwa becoming the 15th Doctor – and actress Jodie Whittaker. Born in Rwanda before moving to Scotland, where he was raised, Gatwa began his career as an extra on the 2014 sitcom Bob Servant. In 2016, he played Demetrius in a production of A Midsummer's Nights Dream at Shakespeare's Globe, before his big break came when he was cast in Sex Education as Eric Effiong, a young gay British-Nigerian who is best friends with Otis, the show's lead character. The Netflix show, which ran from 2019 until 2023, documented Eric's growth as he deals with his family's acceptance of his sexuality while he embraces his Nigerian heritage. He also falls in love with Adam (Connor Swindells), who bullied him in the first series, and has ups and downs in his friendship with (Otis Milburn) Asa Butterfield. However, Gatwa's seemingly meteoric rise, which led to him being cast in the 2023 blockbuster Barbie, has been far from plain sailing. Writing in The Big Issue in May 2020, he said he ended up homeless after running out of savings in the months before he landed his role in Sex Education. 'Being a 25-year-old man with no money or job affected my sense of self-worth,' he wrote. 'Rejection became unbearable. Auditions weren't just acting jobs, they were lifelines.' He continued: 'One friend gave me money towards paying off the prior month's rent and offered to let me move into their spare room rent free for a while. 'Great, I thought. An opportunity to get back on my feet and start paying people back. 'On moving-in day, he changed his mind. As I was standing on the street with my suitcases, one thought came into my head: 'I'm homeless'.' While everything appeared fine to the outside world, Gatwa was losing weight because he could not afford to eat properly. 'To the outside world everything seemed fine. I was temping at Harrods,' he wrote. 'I'd wake up from the double bed I shared with my best friend, leave the house without a hair out of place in a slick-looking trench coat and polished brogues. 'I would get compliments for looking so presentable. When I lost weight due to eating only one meal a day, people told me how lean and healthy I looked.' In reality, Gatwa had developed depression, though he kept it from his friends out of fear of being a 'burden', and later worked through the mental health condition. He joined Doctor Who in 2023 when Russell T Davies, who was behind the programme's 2005 revival, took over from showrunner Chris Chibnall – who steered Whittaker's run and worked with her and Tennant previously on Broadchurch. Gatwa's turn in the science fiction show was praised by reviewers for his first season's starting episodes Space Babies and The Devil's Chord. The Guardian said that he 'will make this show far more fun than it's been for years', praising him for being 'naturally able to express the dazzling extremes' of the character, while The Times said he 'sparkles as a charismatic Doctor with otherworldly energy'. However, Davies, who had success with Channel 4's It's A Sin and Queer As Folk as well Doctor Who spin-offs The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood, has recently faced accusations that he has pushed the show in a 'woke' direction. A small number of social media critics have pointed to the diversity of the cast, a drag queen villain, and introduction of transgender and non-binary characters. However, both he and Gatwa have strongly dismissed this criticism as from a minority, with Davies telling BBC Radio 2's 20 Secrets From 20 Years: 'Someone always brings up matters of diversity. 'And there are online warriors accusing us of diversity and wokeness and involving messages and issues. 'And I have no time for this. I don't have a second to bear (it). Because what you might call diversity, I just call an open door.' Gatwa told Attitude magazine in 2024 that the hateful comments the sci-fi show has received after casting a black man is 'fascinating, because there's so much energy they're putting into it … I think they need to go find a hobby is one thing'. During his time, he has had companions in the form of Andor actress Varada Sethu, and former Coronation Street actress Millie Gibson, who played Gatwa's companion Ruby Sunday since the 2023 Christmas episode The Church On Ruby Road. Highlights have included a Regency-themed episode that saw him have a burgeoning romance with the character Rogue, played by Mindhunter actor Jonathan Groff, the explosive Boom episode and the arrival of the classic Time Lord villain, the Rani. Since Doctor Who, Gatwa has been in a re-imagined version of Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest at the National Theatre, and is set to be in West End play Born With Teeth – which re-imagines the relationship between rival playwrights Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. He has also been in the Second World War show Masters Of The Air with Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan, and the upcoming The Roses with two-time Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, and Academy Award-winner Olivia Colman.
Glasgow Times
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Ncuti Gatwa: The Sex Education star who brought a flirty-spin to the Doctor
His path to success has been a long and winding one, with struggles with depression and homelessness, before landing the role of a lifetime and a dream for thousands of young actors. The 32-year-old took on the role of the Time Lord previously filled by Matt Smith, David Tennant – who was brought back to be the 14th Doctor where he ushered in a bi-generation storyline that led to Gatwa becoming the 15th Doctor – and actress Jodie Whittaker. Varada Sethu and Ncuti Gatwa. (Ian West/PA) Born in Rwanda before moving to Scotland, where he was raised, Gatwa began his career as an extra on the 2014 sitcom Bob Servant. In 2016, he played Demetrius in a production of A Midsummer's Nights Dream at Shakespeare's Globe, before his big break came when he was cast in Sex Education as Eric Effiong, a young gay British-Nigerian who is best friends with Otis, the show's lead character. The Netflix show, which ran from 2019 until 2023, documented Eric's growth as he deals with his family's acceptance of his sexuality while he embraces his Nigerian heritage. Ncuti Gatwa. (Ian West/PA) He also falls in love with Adam (Connor Swindells), who bullied him in the first series, and has ups and downs in his friendship with (Otis Milburn) Asa Butterfield. However, Gatwa's seemingly meteoric rise, which led to him being cast in the 2023 blockbuster Barbie, has been far from plain sailing. Writing in The Big Issue in May 2020, he said he ended up homeless after running out of savings in the months before he landed his role in Sex Education. 'Being a 25-year-old man with no money or job affected my sense of self-worth,' he wrote. 'Rejection became unbearable. Auditions weren't just acting jobs, they were lifelines.' He continued: 'One friend gave me money towards paying off the prior month's rent and offered to let me move into their spare room rent free for a while. 'Great, I thought. An opportunity to get back on my feet and start paying people back. 'On moving-in day, he changed his mind. As I was standing on the street with my suitcases, one thought came into my head: 'I'm homeless'.' While everything appeared fine to the outside world, Gatwa was losing weight because he could not afford to eat properly. 'To the outside world everything seemed fine. I was temping at Harrods,' he wrote. 'I'd wake up from the double bed I shared with my best friend, leave the house without a hair out of place in a slick-looking trench coat and polished brogues. Ncuti Gatwa. (Ian West/PA) 'I would get compliments for looking so presentable. When I lost weight due to eating only one meal a day, people told me how lean and healthy I looked.' In reality, Gatwa had developed depression, though he kept it from his friends out of fear of being a 'burden', and later worked through the mental health condition. He joined Doctor Who in 2023 when Russell T Davies, who was behind the programme's 2005 revival, took over from showrunner Chris Chibnall – who steered Whittaker's run and worked with her and Tennant previously on Broadchurch. Gatwa's turn in the science fiction show was praised by reviewers for his first season's starting episodes Space Babies and The Devil's Chord. The Guardian said that he 'will make this show far more fun than it's been for years', praising him for being 'naturally able to express the dazzling extremes' of the character, while The Times said he 'sparkles as a charismatic Doctor with otherworldly energy'. However, Davies, who had success with Channel 4's It's A Sin and Queer As Folk as well Doctor Who spin-offs The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood, has recently faced accusations that he has pushed the show in a 'woke' direction. A small number of social media critics have pointed to the diversity of the cast, a drag queen villain, and introduction of transgender and non-binary characters. However, both he and Gatwa have strongly dismissed this criticism as from a minority, with Davies telling BBC Radio 2's 20 Secrets From 20 Years: 'Someone always brings up matters of diversity. 'And there are online warriors accusing us of diversity and wokeness and involving messages and issues. 'And I have no time for this. I don't have a second to bear (it). Because what you might call diversity, I just call an open door.' Gatwa told Attitude magazine in 2024 that the hateful comments the sci-fi show has received after casting a black man is 'fascinating, because there's so much energy they're putting into it … I think they need to go find a hobby is one thing'. During his time, he has had companions in the form of Andor actress Varada Sethu, and former Coronation Street actress Millie Gibson, who played Gatwa's companion Ruby Sunday since the 2023 Christmas episode The Church On Ruby Road. Highlights have included a Regency-themed episode that saw him have a burgeoning romance with the character Rogue, played by Mindhunter actor Jonathan Groff, the explosive Boom episode and the arrival of the classic Time Lord villain, the Rani. Since Doctor Who, Gatwa has been in a re-imagined version of Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest at the National Theatre, and is set to be in West End play Born With Teeth – which re-imagines the relationship between rival playwrights Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. He has also been in the Second World War show Masters Of The Air with Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan, and the upcoming The Roses with two-time Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, and Academy Award-winner Olivia Colman.
Rhyl Journal
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Ncuti Gatwa: The Sex Education star who brought a flirty-spin to the Doctor
His path to success has been a long and winding one, with struggles with depression and homelessness, before landing the role of a lifetime and a dream for thousands of young actors. The 32-year-old took on the role of the Time Lord previously filled by Matt Smith, David Tennant – who was brought back to be the 14th Doctor where he ushered in a bi-generation storyline that led to Gatwa becoming the 15th Doctor – and actress Jodie Whittaker. Born in Rwanda before moving to Scotland, where he was raised, Gatwa began his career as an extra on the 2014 sitcom Bob Servant. In 2016, he played Demetrius in a production of A Midsummer's Nights Dream at Shakespeare's Globe, before his big break came when he was cast in Sex Education as Eric Effiong, a young gay British-Nigerian who is best friends with Otis, the show's lead character. The Netflix show, which ran from 2019 until 2023, documented Eric's growth as he deals with his family's acceptance of his sexuality while he embraces his Nigerian heritage. He also falls in love with Adam (Connor Swindells), who bullied him in the first series, and has ups and downs in his friendship with (Otis Milburn) Asa Butterfield. However, Gatwa's seemingly meteoric rise, which led to him being cast in the 2023 blockbuster Barbie, has been far from plain sailing. Writing in The Big Issue in May 2020, he said he ended up homeless after running out of savings in the months before he landed his role in Sex Education. 'Being a 25-year-old man with no money or job affected my sense of self-worth,' he wrote. 'Rejection became unbearable. Auditions weren't just acting jobs, they were lifelines.' He continued: 'One friend gave me money towards paying off the prior month's rent and offered to let me move into their spare room rent free for a while. 'Great, I thought. An opportunity to get back on my feet and start paying people back. 'On moving-in day, he changed his mind. As I was standing on the street with my suitcases, one thought came into my head: 'I'm homeless'.' While everything appeared fine to the outside world, Gatwa was losing weight because he could not afford to eat properly. 'To the outside world everything seemed fine. I was temping at Harrods,' he wrote. 'I'd wake up from the double bed I shared with my best friend, leave the house without a hair out of place in a slick-looking trench coat and polished brogues. 'I would get compliments for looking so presentable. When I lost weight due to eating only one meal a day, people told me how lean and healthy I looked.' In reality, Gatwa had developed depression, though he kept it from his friends out of fear of being a 'burden', and later worked through the mental health condition. He joined Doctor Who in 2023 when Russell T Davies, who was behind the programme's 2005 revival, took over from showrunner Chris Chibnall – who steered Whittaker's run and worked with her and Tennant previously on Broadchurch. Gatwa's turn in the science fiction show was praised by reviewers for his first season's starting episodes Space Babies and The Devil's Chord. The Guardian said that he 'will make this show far more fun than it's been for years', praising him for being 'naturally able to express the dazzling extremes' of the character, while The Times said he 'sparkles as a charismatic Doctor with otherworldly energy'. However, Davies, who had success with Channel 4's It's A Sin and Queer As Folk as well Doctor Who spin-offs The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood, has recently faced accusations that he has pushed the show in a 'woke' direction. A small number of social media critics have pointed to the diversity of the cast, a drag queen villain, and introduction of transgender and non-binary characters. However, both he and Gatwa have strongly dismissed this criticism as from a minority, with Davies telling BBC Radio 2's 20 Secrets From 20 Years: 'Someone always brings up matters of diversity. 'And there are online warriors accusing us of diversity and wokeness and involving messages and issues. 'And I have no time for this. I don't have a second to bear (it). Because what you might call diversity, I just call an open door.' Gatwa told Attitude magazine in 2024 that the hateful comments the sci-fi show has received after casting a black man is 'fascinating, because there's so much energy they're putting into it … I think they need to go find a hobby is one thing'. During his time, he has had companions in the form of Andor actress Varada Sethu, and former Coronation Street actress Millie Gibson, who played Gatwa's companion Ruby Sunday since the 2023 Christmas episode The Church On Ruby Road. Highlights have included a Regency-themed episode that saw him have a burgeoning romance with the character Rogue, played by Mindhunter actor Jonathan Groff, the explosive Boom episode and the arrival of the classic Time Lord villain, the Rani. Since Doctor Who, Gatwa has been in a re-imagined version of Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest at the National Theatre, and is set to be in West End play Born With Teeth – which re-imagines the relationship between rival playwrights Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. He has also been in the Second World War show Masters Of The Air with Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan, and the upcoming The Roses with two-time Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, and Academy Award-winner Olivia Colman.
