Today 
Tomorrow 
Of Mornington
Internationally acclaimed playwright and author Billy Roche (Handful Of Stars, Poor Beast In The Rain, Belfry) and renowned Irish Actor Gary Lydon (The Banshees of Inisherin, The Guard, Calvary, Brooklyn, War Horse, The Clinic) continue their 40-year creative alliance to present OF MORNINGTON; a raw, unsentimental drama set in a rundown café where three lost souls collide, revealing broken dreams, quiet devastation, and the myths we cling to when the applause is gone.
In its first professional production, OF MORNINGTON is set in a rundown, small-town café run by the emotionally wounded young waitress Shauna. Former world champion snooker player Phil Athens and his magic cue now live in the apartment above. Licking his wounds, both physical and emotional, Phil yearns to return to his former glory. Enter Mike, the young ne’er-do-well, snooker player wannabe, who drifts into the café looking for something he can’t find. The three lost souls collide, revealing broken dreams, quiet devastation, and the myths we cling to when the applause is gone.
COMPANY HISTORY
Ad Personam Cultural Events Ltd is a Wexford-based arts organisation co-founded by theatre director, producers, and educators Peter McCamley and Aileen McCamley. The company creates and produces high-quality theatre, music, and interdisciplinary cultural events that combine professional artistic practice with strong community engagement.
Ad Personam’s work includes the Castle-Lake Arts Festival (2021), theatre productions such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2021) and by Billy Roche (2022), the short film Sequah by Billy Roche (2023), and the ongoing Christmas by Candlelight series. The company has also produced large-scale public and community events including BarnFest at St Mary’s GAA (2022), Bealtaine Festival Wexford (2023–2024), Murrintown Christmas Festival and Specials (2021–2025), and Filling the Well for Rosslare Strand Culture Night (2024–2025).
In 2023, Ad Personam produced The Rosslare Song Project in partnership with Cruinniú na nÓg Wexford, alongside an extensive programme of collaborative work with Music Generation Wexford, including Everyone (2024), La/Oíche at Ceilúradh, Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (2024), Music Generation Educators Day – We Are Music Generation (2025), Bí Ann at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (2025), and Back to the Festival (2025), an interactive music experience for young people created as part of Wexford Festival Opera.
The company’s mission is to produce artistically ambitious, accessible work that places professional artists at the heart of communities, creating meaningful cultural experiences that are rooted in place while engaging with universal themes.
Billy Roche
Billy Roche’s first novel, Tumbling Down, was published in 1986. His first stage play, A Handful Of Stars, was staged at The Bush Theatre, London in 1988. This was followed by Poor Beast In The Rain in 1990. Belfry completed this powerful trilogy for the Bush Theatre. All three plays, directed by Robin Le Fevre, became known as the Wexford Trilogy and were performed in their entirety at The Bush, the Peacock and the Theatre Royal, Wexford. Later the Wexford Trilogy was filmed for the B.B.C. His fourth play Amphibians was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company. This was followed by The Cavalcaders at The Peacock and Royal Court, London.
He wrote the screenplay for Trojan Eddie, which was directed by Gillies MacKinnon and starred Stephen Rea and Richard Harris.On Such As We was performed at the Peacock in 2001.Tales From Rainwater Pond, his collection of short stories was published by Pillar Press in 2006. Lay Me Down Softly, his 7th play, was originally performed at the Peacock Theatre in 2008, directed by Wilson Milam. A Love Like That was produced by Decadent Theatre at The National Opera House and The Civic Theatre, Dublin.Billy’s plays are published by Nick Hern Books.
The Eclipse, a film that was co-written with Conor McPherson won an IFTA Award for Best Screenplay and Best Film,directed by Conor McPherson.The film is inspired by Billy’s short story Table Manners (from the Tales From Rainwater Pond collection). His short novella The Diary Of Maynard Perdu was performed on stage by Peter McCamley at the Wexford Arts Centre, the Mill Theatre and Smock Alley, Dublin. He wrote the screenplay Clean Break for RTE television.
His plays are constantly revised and reproduced- Lay Me Down Softly at The Tricycle Theatre, London/The Seanachai Theatre, Chicago. The Cavalcaders/Druid; On Such As We/Decadent Theatre; A Handful Of Stars/ Four Rivers Theatre. Billy Roche is a member of Aosdana.
Gary Lydon
Phil Athens will be played by Gary Lydon. Gary has a long association with Billy Roche, appearing in many of his plays,including A Handful of Stars, Poor Beast in the Rain, Belfry, The Cavalcaders and Lay Me Down Softly(all world premieres). Other theatre credits include Hangmen, The Pillowman, The Weir and Borstal Boy(all Gaiety Theatre), Playboy of The Western World(Old Vic and Druid), Waiting For Godot(Gare St.Lazare),The Cripple of Inishmann (National Theatre,London); Drumbelly, The House, Translations, A Whistle in The Dark(Abbey Theatre), Sive,and Tinker’s Wedding/Well of the Saints(Druid).
Gary will be seen later this year playing Elvis impersonator Gerry Byrne in the upcoming feature film One Sweet Hour, written by Eugene O’Brien and directed by Declan Recks, produced by Samson Films. Other screen credits include Trespasses(Channel 4), Bodkin(Netflix), The Banshees of Inisherin, Lakelands, Barber, Broken Law, The Guard, Calvary, Pure Mule and The Clinic.
Gary’s production credits through his company, Gary Lydon Productions, include his own adaptation of A Christmas Carol, which he also directed; a Halloween Tour of Carrick on Shannon, and public rehearsed readings of Of Mornington, Mountain Outta Mohill, The Monday Boy and Lakes (all Dock Arts Centre).
James Doherty O’Brien
Mike will be played by James Doherty O’Brien. James is a Theatre Studies and English Literature graduate from Trinity College, Dublin, and has appeared in numerous productions as part of his studies. He played Des in the acclaimed production of A Whistle in the Dark by Tom Murphy at the Abbey Theatre, starring Sean McGinley and Brian Gleeson. James wrote, directed, produced, and performed the lead role in his one-person show, Your Heart is an Empty Room, as part of the Scene + Heard Festival 2025 at Smock Alley Theatre, and later at The Dock in Carrick-on-Shannon. He is also an accomplished guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and a former member of the rock band The Flies. His screen credits include the film Lakelands and the AMC series Moonhaven, which recently landed on Netflix.
Peter McCamley
The play will be directed by Peter McCamley. Peter is a theatre director, producer, actor, and educator with over 23 years of experience in the performing arts. Co-founder of Menapia Theatre Company and Ad Personam Cultural Events Ltd, he has created numerous productions and cultural festivals across Ireland and the UK, including the Castle-Lake Arts Festival, Billy Roche’s The Diary of Maynard Perdu, and the ongoing Christmas by Candlelight series.
His directing work includes Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, alongside contemporary pieces by David Mamet, Oscar Wilde, and Ariel Dorfman at American College Dublin. Peter has also directed for Dublin City Council’s Opera in the Open and served as actor trainer for Wexford Festival Opera.
As a performer, recent credits include Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream(Wexford Festival Opera 2025), Maynard Perdu in The Diary of Maynard Perdu(Smock Alley Theatre), Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music(National Concert Hall), and roles in Wexford Festival Opera’s Impossible Interviews series.
Other notable work includes Ariel in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Prospero’s Journey and performing with the Blueman Group in New York. Peter holds an MFA in Performance (First Class Honours) from American College Dublin and a BA Hons in Acting from Rose Bruford College. He trained at Stratford-Upon-Avon College in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company and studied Method Acting in London. Currently, he lectures in Acting and Theatre at American College Dublin and works as a teaching artist with Music Generation Wexford, continuing to foster artistic excellence across performance and education.
