SYNAPSES
by Liam Wilson Smyth
Gúna Nua
Town Hall Theatre, June 10, 2026
Getting people out to see this kind of play was always going to be challenging.
Reading the synopsis for Liam Wilson Smyth’s Synapses, one fears the audience may be in for an Irish, millennial version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? But there is so much more to this intimate, tender piece - full of deep thought, and feeling.
Regrettably, the production had to be transferred last minute from the main stage to the studio space upstairs in the Town Hall. The reason: a meagre 29 seats sold, which tells us a lot about where Irish Theatre is at the moment.
I remember once being told that theatregoers do not want to see plays about young people. Since then, I have developed a tendency to observe the average age of an audience before every show. There are exceptions, of course, but there must also be an element of truth in older people not wanting to endure tales of woe from Gen-Zers (of which I am included ).
Ironically, new plays that tackle so-called ‘pressing’ or ‘contemporary’ issues with modern-day relevance seem to be the ones predominantly attracting funding, leaving us with an array of productions where the ‘supported by’ section of the poster might is packed, but the theatres in which they play are anything but.
In a promotional clip for the play, Smyth speaks about the rise of social media’s parental influencers who make parenthood out to be easy; his intention being to smash this myth. And Synapses certainly succeeds in achieving this, presenting a warts-and-all depiction of what it is like to bring up a child in modern-day Ireland.
In this case, we have Emily and Mike, divorced parents in their late twenties doing their utmost to raise their young son, Allister, as best they can. On one fateful evening, after Mike drops Allister back to Emily’s house, the former couple decide to have it out: lay all their cards on the table, so to speak, in a bid to stop hating each other for the sake of their child.
Ciara Meehan’s lighting is exquisite, not only informing the audience where we are in the relationship timeline - as Smyth’s script jumps back and forwards - but also dictating the mood. This compliments two beautifully realised and intensely emotional performances from Smyth and Molly Downey, with Paul Mead’s direction pacing their fierce interactions wonderfully.
I sat in the front row and was completely enthralled for the entire 80 minutes, leading me to believe that this is a play better experienced in close quarters. It began a two-week run in The Viking Theatre in Clontarf on Jue 15, a venue for which it is perfectly suited. In all, this is probably the best production I have seen this year.
Writers like Liam Wilson Smyth are the future. But is there a future for them? I am sure a lot of emerging writers, actors and directors are asking themselves the same question.
How many Arts students are studying English at third level in Galway every year? Hundreds? Thousands? Are lecturers encouraging them to frequent the Town Hall and actually experience theatre, rather than just reading it out of a book?
Then again, the cost of tickets may well be a deterrent, with a concession price of €18 still likely too rich for the blood of many young people across Ireland. How about €10 student tickets for certain shows? Subsidised or not, surely it would be better to fill as many seats as possible, rather than having professional productions playing to minuscule audiences?
Either way, more needs to be done. Synapses deserved better.
4/5 stars
