A Gonzo Theatre production The Town On Stage, written by Philip Doherty, is a series of seven short plays based on historical curiousities of the town and local culture which were premiered at various locations in Cavan town during Fleadh Cheoil na h'Éireann 2010.
Karina Charles and Julie Ann McKiernan in The Drunk Ouija Board
Farnham’s Head
Directed by Pauric Carroll, premiered at Johnston Central Library, Farnham St.
The Ghost of Owen Roe
Directed by Trina McCann, premiered at the Old Abbey Park, Abbey Street.
The Drunk Ouija Board
Directed by Philip Doherty, premiered at the Old Lifeforce Mill, St. Brigid’s car park.
The Blues
Directed by Peadar Lafferty, premiered at Main St. Barbers, Lorraine’s, Main St. Cavan.
Murder on Main Street
Directed by Damien O’Brien, premiered at Blessings Bar, Main St, Cavan.
The Fire
Directed by Kevin O’Connor premiered at The Teacher’s Centre, St. Clares, Main St. Cavan.
Phil the Fluter’s Party
Directed by Amy Driver, premiered at Percy French’s Old House. Farnham St, Cavan
Peadar Lafferty and Shane Carroll in Murder On Main Street
The Town On Stage featured Tommy Sharkey, Charlie McGuinness, Ray Fitzsimmons, Daniel Brady, Shane Carroll, Karina Charles, Gary Lacy, Caroline Fay, Eddie Brady, Julie Ann McKiernan, Jimmy Fox, Paddy Sheannon, Conor Sheirdan, Dennis Cullen, Callum Kelly, Keiron Smith, Peadar Lafferty, Seamus O’Rourke, Deirdre O’Reilly, Phil Gilbride, Kevin McGahern, David Reilly, Yvonne Hynemnan, Cormac McCann, Daragh Slacke, Alan D’arcy, Cathal Johnson and many more as extras, crew and assistants.
Philip Doherty's energetic theatrical output in the three successive All Ireland Fleadhannas for Cavan began with The Town on Stage in 2010. An ambitious whirl of the history of the town was the common theme in the seven plays, written by Doherty and starring local talent. In 2011 Fleadh Town took an alternative look at the Fleadh, and in 2012 The Devil’s Ceili a masterful retelling of a popular Irish ghost story. Doherty's political, frantic and often absurdist style of writing was developed and brought to life in these earlier works, a style that would later become the hallmark of Doherty's work for stage and screen. In 2012 Gonzo Theatre, in collaboration with Sixem productions, won RTÉ Storyland Competition with the hilarious and outrageous story of male friendship in a small Irish Town with The Begrudgers. Picking a theme which revealed absurd aspects of the Irish psyche, the inventiveness and attention to detail made each episode fresh and powerfully funny. The popularity of Doherty's narrative grewm further with The Great Couch Rebellion, which was premiered at The Theatre Upstairs as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival Fringe in 2013. The Rebellion was a portrait of the laissez-faire attitude towards social change against the backdrop of the debate on the changes to the Irish constitution.
Philip Doherty won the PJ O Connor radio play award twice with his first play, Mysterious Ways, in 2006 and again in 2013 with The Golden Triangle. Other works include The Circus of Perseverance, Dublin Fringe Festival 2012, and Pilgrim performed by Rex Ryan (Best Actor nomination ’13) and directed by Aoife Spillane- Hinks. Pilgrim, which featured at the Tiger Dublin Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe weaves together a text rich with verbal pyro-technics, a haunting soundscape, and psychedelic visuals through a tapestry of grotesque worlds and outlandish characters. Philip is currently working on a feature-length production for screen.
