The Half Moon

Four women. Four generations. One Belfast family fighting for freedom and future.

In a ferociously optimistic tale of home and hope, we meet Ethel, Jeanette, Sarah and Pam, each trapped by the narrow streets and looming mountain of Tiger’s Bay. None of them had the chance to leave until now. Pam may have broken the cycle and followed her dream of a life elsewhere but can she ever truly escape her ancestry? There are stories of battle, passion and hope still demanding to be told.

March - April 2022 - Community Tour and the MAC Belfast

July - August 2023 - Lyric Theatre, Belfast and Pleasance Theatre Edinburgh

Selected for Edinburgh National Partnership with Pleasance Theatre and Lyric Theatre Belfast

Team

Writer – Alice Malseed
Director – Emily Foran 
Performed by Ruby Campbell
Stage and Production Management - Jude Barriscale
Lighting Design – Alan Mooney 
Set and Costume Design – Pai Rathaya
Sound Design – Stuart Robinson
Movement – Paula O’Reilly
Produced by Alice Malseed with Emily Foran
In Partnership with Lyric Belfast & Pleasance 
Originally Commissioned and Produced by Green Shoot Productions (2022)

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Reviews

  • Shortlisted for an Irish Times Theatre Award and Audience Choice Award 2023

  • ☆☆☆☆☆

    British Theatre Guide

  • ☆☆☆☆

    The Scotsman

  • ☆☆☆☆☆

    One4Review

  • ☆☆☆☆

    The Wee Review

  • ☆☆☆☆

    The Reviews Hub

  • Unforgettable

    The Scotsman

  • Its powerful atmosphere and the forceful integrity of Campbell’s performance make this a show to remember

    The Scotsman

  • Alice Malseed has written a beautiful if painful script. [..] a play about four women from Ireland, but it could just as easily have been of any of the many women from everywhere on the planet. Ruby Campbell, who takes on all the characters, controls the material

    British Theatre Guide

  • The Half Moon captures succinctly the resourcefulness of the feminine voices who have been voiceless throughout the generations in Northern Ireland…Beautifully performed

    The Reviews Hub

  • A beautiful and fascinating piece of theatre... It’s a delight to hear the female perspective of living in Belfast during the troubles…

    One4Review

  • Malseed has done a beautiful job of illustrating the conflict between deep attachment to home and the desire to escape

    The Wee Review

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