DUBLIN 2026: Interview: Fíonna Hewitt-Twamley On Bringing MYRA'S STORY Home

For actor Fíonna Hewitt-Twamley, taking on the title role in Brian Foster’s Myra’s Story was never going to be just another acting gig. In 2018, while prepping for the IFTAs, her agent sent her a script that stopped her in her tracks.

"It was one of the most authentic, raw, and challenging scripts I’d ever read," Hewitt-Twamley recalls. She met Foster the next morning, landed the part, and embarked on a journey that has spanned nearly 750 performances across eight years, four sold-out Edinburgh Fringe seasons, and a West End run.

Now, Myra’s Story returns to Dublin's Gaiety Theatre from 26 to 31 October 2026. The play follows Myra McLaughlin, a 48-year-old Dublin woman living on the streets, as she navigates addiction, grief, and survival.

While the show is a tour de force of solo performance, Hewitt-Twamley is quick to push back against preconceptions. "People think a play about a homeless woman with alcohol addiction must be a misery fest, but it isn't," she explains. The production relies heavily on sharp Dublin wit and observational humor to build an immediate bond with the audience. "Dublin audiences own the language, the phrasing, and the colloquialisms. They can place a Myra from their own street or their own family."

On stage, Hewitt-Twamley single-handedly brings 16 distinct Dublin characters to life, shifting between voices, mannerisms, and physical postures at breakneck speed. She even stages three-person arguments solo on a bare set, guiding the audience through complex exchanges without missing a beat. To anchor herself in Myra’s skin night after night, she relies on sensory immersion. The costume she wears today is the exact same one from 2018, purposefully unwashed to maintain an authentic scent that serves as her immediate psychological trigger before stepping into the spotlight.

Beyond the footlights, the production carries a tangible real-world mission. After the curtain call, Hewitt-Twamley speaks in her own voice to audiences, challenging misconceptions around homelessness and inviting support for frontline organizations, including primary Irish partner Coolmine Housing and Addiction Centre.

"It’s not just a piece of theater. It’s just not that simple," Hewitt-Twamley notes. "I’ve never had a piece of work that has sung to an audience the way this has. Change perspective: that’s the biggest thing of all. You have to give it back."

 

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