Based on the book by Pat McCabe
Town Hall Theatre, Galway
September 14, 2025
***
When you consider the work of Pat McCabe, you tend to think of darkness, violence and delusion. It is easy to forget that his first book, published in 1985, was a children's story about a mouse from Longford.
The Adventures of Shay Mouse was adapted into a play and performed at The Abbey Theatre in 1995. It featured the late Sean Rocks, whose recent passing came as a huge shock to the Irish theatre community.
With this new adaptation, McCabe reunites with frequent collaborator Padraic McIntyre, who is the current venue manager of the Ramor Theatre and Cavan Town Hall. The pair have worked together on numerous productions with Livin' Dred Theatre Company, now run by artistic director Aaron Monaghan.
The play follows protagonist 'Shay Mouse' who is ousted from his blissful home in Bornacoola Wood by a pack of sinister rats. Left to travel the Irish countryside alone, he eventually arrives in the big smoke, where he forms an unlikely bond with a Jack Russell. Together, they plot to return to Shay's homeland, and conquer the evil rats once and for all.
Shane Carrol embodies the madness of McCabe's work as Shay, an amusingly erratic mouse, whose plight resonates with the audience. McIntyre plays a wide array of characters, but is particularly delightful as the antagonist 'Pat the Rat', resembling an SS officer with a hint of a Kerry accent.
Although the performers failed to get many true belly-laughs, and had to gently encourage a round of applause after each musical number, they managed to keep the children in attendance tuned in from the get-go, which is no easy task.
Aside from being playful entertainment, this production highlights McCabe's range as a writer. One would predominantly associate him with stories about deranged protagonists (The Butcher Boy, The Holy City ) or the Irish diaspora in London (Breakfast on Pluto, Poguemahone ).
For an author whose novels are often challenging to get through, The Adventures of Shay Mouse is remarkably linear and intelligible. It shines a light on a lesser-known part of McCabe's repertoire, furthering the case of him being one of the finest Irish writers of the past 50 years.
In summary: good, honest fun for all the family.
