Paddy - The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong

Don Wycherley in Paddy - The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong. Image uncredited.

*****

The hallmark of a truly great biographer is that they never flinch. Ensuring they themselves, or their chosen subject, confess their sins, shames, regrets and humiliations in all their unvarnished rawness. Especially when a temptation towards a PR paint job, or hindsight heroism is justifiable. By any such metrics, Paddy - The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong by Mary-Elaine Tynan, Don Wycherley and Niamh Gleeson is an outstanding piece of autobiographical theatre. Inspired by Tynan’s 2017, Life After Life: A Guildford Four Memoir, what emerges is a searing indictment of injustice and a heartfelt song of survival. And that’s not even the best part. That would be Don Wycherley, whose career defining performance is of such devastating power the only appropriate response is awe.

Not that you see much of Wycherley, so embedded in the role you frequently double take to make sure it’s not Armstrong onstage. A man cursed with being in the wrong place at the wrong time, with making bad decisions, with being a degenerate gambler with a fondness for strong drugs. Who fled to London in the 1970s to escape The Troubles only to find himself right at the heart of them by being wrongly convicted, or more accurately, framed for a bombing he did not commit on behalf of the IRA who he didn’t belong to. Along with Paul Hill, Gerry Conlon and Armstrong’s then girlfriend, Carole Richardson, known as the Guildford Four, Armstrong spent almost fifteen years incarcerated until their conviction was deemed unsafe and overturned, due to sterling work by their solicitors. Celebrity status and hanging with Daniel Day Lewis not sitting well with Armstrong upon his release, he married, moved to Dublin and settled down to a quieter life raising his family.

Set in a nursing home, we encounter Paddy as his memory is beginning to fade. A clever device allowing narrative to slip between the years establishing connections that frequently overlap. Paddy talking to try piece together a jigsaw of memories. His first poker game, the family priest, the night the police came calling, the interrogations, the court case, the screws, both in prison and the nursing home, all bleed into each other. Smart, jumbled, economic fragments, unafraid to risk confusion, allow us share in Paddy's dilemma. Directed by Tynan, deep familiarity with her subject matter and a sensible approach of allowing Wycherley do what he does best ensures it all comes home with a bang, no pun intended. Though one suspects Armstrong would have appreciated the joke.

Fringed by a single armchair, ragged bathrobe, some retro tunes and a completely pointless and distracting use of lights, Wycherley is utterly sensational. Rich, subtle, nuanced; gestures and expressions spill over with endless depth as Paddy fizzes with energy. Wycherley leaving no microscopic moment unattended; dancing like he's seventy or seventeen, or playing a handful of supporting characters with rigour. Throughout, horrifying facts are a distant second to the uplifting spirit of a remarkable man, who Wycherley realises and honours. Indeed, it's at times like this that the loss of The Irish Times Theatre Awards are most keenly felt. Wycherley’s tour de force performance is deserving of the highest plaudits. Indeed, bookies would stop taking bets on Wycherley were awards up for grabs, probably to Paddy's disappointment.

It’s a testament to  Paddy - The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong that were it pure fiction it would still make for a devastating piece of theatre. Still, it bears remembering what lies at the core of Armstrong’s real life experiences. An unsafe conviction suggests a mishap, an error, an accident. A lack of deliberate intent. But history has shown there was deliberate intent. That Armstrong has made peace with it is a measure of the man’s character. Audiences may not be so forgiving, given that none of the police or judiciary involved were ever convicted. Indeed, several went on to receive honours and awards. As the world spirals into dark places, the truth behind such lies of language needs to be remembered.

Having premiered at The Viking Theatre, Paddy - The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong currently runs as part of The Five Lamps Arts Festival before continuing its national tour. On the evidence of the enthusiastic, sold out crowd in East Wall’s Sean O'Casey Theatre, book your tickets now. A celebration of the human spirit in adversity Paddy - The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong is not to be missed. Wycherley's performance destined to be talked about for decades to come.

Paddy - The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong written by Mary-Elaine Tynan, Don Wycherley and Niamh Gleeson, directed by Mary-Elaine Tynan is currently on tour.

For more information visit The Five Lamps Arts Festival or Paddy - The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong