MAMMY'S HOUSE to Explore London's Irish LGBTQ+ AIDS-Era History
The play was shaped by two years of research and conversations with London's Irish LGBTQ+ community.
Drawing on first-hand testimony from London's Irish LGBTQ+ community, Mammy's House is a new play exploring the untold experiences of those who built new lives in London after leaving Ireland in search of greater acceptance. Taking place from 1985, against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis, the play celebrates the resilience, humour and chosen families that sustained a community facing both prejudice and devastating loss. Developed through extensive research and conversations with those who lived through the period, Mammy's House shines a light on a chapter of both Irish and LGBTQ+ history that has rarely been told on stage. Performances will run Tuesday 1st – Sunday 13th September 2026 at Upstairs at the Gatehouse.
Behind the door of an ordinary London terrace, the play follows an Irish LGBTQ+ household who have created a home and family together in Camden. As the AIDS epidemic takes hold and discrimination continues to shape everyday life, their relationships are tested in ways they never imagined. Created by Irish actor, producer and presenter Derek Murphy (Happy Hour, Upstairs at the Gatehouse; Love Dance, Chiswick Playhouse), Mammy's House is written by Amy Clarke (Sequins, Genera Film Fund; Witches of West Cork, Craft Services Network) and directed by Brian Brady (Making History, Abbey Theatre; Dancing at Lughnasa, Olivier Theatre). Murphy also stars as Barry, affectionately known as 'Mammy', alongside Stephen Cheriton (The Lehman Trilogy, Piccadilly Theatres; Yardbird, Hackney Empire), who plays Justin and Ginny Tonic. They are joined by Conor O'Dwyer (Homo(sapien), Theatre503; Dublin Murders, Euston Films), who plays both Niall and Nellie, Jemma Curran (Soulmate Wanted, Dún Laoghaire; Moone Boy, Baby Cow Productions), Justin Ensor (Girls & Boys, Gander Films; Flicker, Bold Puppy) and Ciara Pouncett (Draining the Swamp, UK Tour; Smothered, Sky Original), who play Mags, Shay and Sally respectively.
Murphy and Clarke spent two years developing the show, supported by the Emigrant Support Programme through the Embassy of Ireland in Great Britain, The Irish Cultural Centre and the Meitheal Muintire Irish End-of-Life Care Project, in association with Innisfree Housing. Working closely with members of London's Irish LGBTQ+ community, they drew on lived experience to ensure the production authentically reflects the period. Amongst those contributing their experiences were activist and priest Bernárd Lynch, one of the first people to bring HIV/AIDS to national attention in Ireland, and historian Dr Joseph Healy, founder of the London Irish LGBT Network and a longstanding campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights within the Irish community.
Performer and producer Derek Murphy, comments, 'We want to create a space where the Irish diaspora and the LGBTQ+ community can see their shared history reflected with dignity, humour, and truth. We wish to establish this story in the theatrical canon so that these vital voices are never deemed 'disposable' ever again.'
Writer Amy Clarke comments 'We saw a gap in our history, a 'double exile' of being queer and Irish in a city that wasn't always welcoming to its Irish residents. We aren't just devising a play; we're documenting a community that was almost lost to silence.'
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