Galway International Arts Festival 2026: Two

Patrick Ryan and Clelia Murphy in Two. Image uncredited

***** Despite vicious rumours to the contrary, no critic worth their salt relishes writing a bad review. Most critics hope every production they attend will succeed on every front. Yet I have to confess to being somewhat relieved I have written negative reviews (moi!). Which serve as an incontrovertible reminder that I do possess objectivity and am not afraid to use it. An objectivity that could be questioned given a run of five star reviews in recent days. Leaving some to wonder have I sold my soul to become a paid publicist? Did I suffer sunstroke on the stroll to Salthill? Did the Tin Man get a heart? Am I undergoing a premature midlife crisis (people live longer these days)? The truth is far simpler. Galway International Arts Festival have assembled some of the most vibrant and exciting theatre productions of 2026. Productions that deserve to be lauded. Including Jim Cartwright’s brilliant Two, presented by Decadent Theatre Company and Galway Arts Centre. In which two worrying performances from Clelia Murphy and Patrick Ryan may offer proof of extraterrestrial life.

In truth, Two barely constitutes a play, being essentially a character study of a community. Centred in an English pub, a thin narrative thread following the troubled relationship of its husband and wife landlords offers a through line on which everything loosely hangs. Namely snapshots of twelve additional characters as they come and go over the period of a day. Some are couples, like the lovelorn Moth and lothario Maudie, or the terrified Lesley and her tormentor Roy. Most are solitary souls; an elderly woman nurturing a Guinness as a momentary treat away from an invalid husband, a quiet widow still missing their wife, a passionate, neglected other woman. As the day passes Cartwright serves up less a story so much as a flick book of polaroids featuring regulars and irregulars, the fearless and frightened, the deluded and desperate affording us a little time in each of their company. Like a triptych, meaning lies not so much in the individual images, but in the spaces between where contrast and comparison discloses the heart, hilarity, heroism and hypocrisy that haunts our harrowed humanity. Revealing wisdom in the tender familiarities we often neglect.

Written in 1989, and indicative of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita styled, working class revisioning so popular during the period, Two is smartly observed, heartbreakingly uplifting, and funny, funny, funny. Andrew Flynn’s direction making strong choices that pay off handsomely. Including locating the action in Salthill’s iconic O’Connor’s Pub where the audience sit, like locals, as action unfolds behind and around the bar. Steeped in thick North of England accents, Celia Murphy and Patrick Ryan revel in their multiple roles, many involving harassed, side burnt men and harangued, hard drinking women. Relationship routines that wouldn’t look out of place in Last the Summer Wine. Anyone thinking long suffering partner jokes are old hat clearly hasn’t been paying attention to contemporary comedians. Only here they’re dipped in touching charm, courtesy of two impeccable performances. Always a jaw dropping privilege to watch, Clelia Murphy, is one of our most talented, if under appreciated actors. Here we get to marvel at the iceberg tip of her range. To witness Murphy fashion anger, seduction, innocence, guile, terror, heartbreak, jealousy, add your own, is to behold something profoundly holy. Or possibly unholy. Witchcraft, dark magic, something that casts such a mesmeric spell that hits with the irresistible alchemy of a love potion. Then there’s Ryan, whose Roy alone, a harrowing study in domestic torment, is enough to warrant devotion. Murphy and Ryan in possession of such chameleon capacity for transformation it suggests Christian Scientists and the creators a V, advocating the existence of an alien race of lizard people, might not be that far-fetched. How else explain the consummate ease with which Ryan and Murphy effortlessly switch between emotional extremities? Both delivering masterclass performances any master would applaud.

In framing Two as an immersive, site specific experience, Flynn, along with lighting designer Ciaran Bagnall, composer and sound designer Carl Kennedy, set designer Brian Moroney, with costumes by Sara Ben-Abdallah, negates the risk of possible datedness whilst foregrounding the play’s retro charm. The result a series of visceral encounters in which Murphy and Ryan remind us time might have moved on, but our needs, hurts, dreams and desires are as familiar as ever. Two. A true theatrical joy. Not to be missed.

Two by Jim Cartwright, presented by Decadent Theatre Company and Galway Arts Centre, runs at O’Connor’s Pub, Salthill  as part of Galway International Arts Festival 2026 until July 26.

For more information visit Galway International Arts Festival, Galway Arts Centre or Decadent Theatre Company