The Good Luck Club: A Unique Irish Theatre Experience

The Good Luck Club was an extraordinary evocation of the reality of the Irish Hospitals Sweepstake, performed in the vast warren of the National Archives building, with the actors leading us from one scene to the next. It was quite a feat of writing, directing, set design and acting to make it work seamlessly and comprehensibly. I was impressed with the clarity and wit of the writing and the intensity of the actors’ performances. We weren’t so much an audience as participants in an engaging and immersive experience.

Maeve Fitzgerald absolutely nailed Dora’s character and the costume designer had her perfectly dressed. The company had even bought a Comptometer so that Dora could show Joe McGrath (played, exactly as I had imagined him, by Oliver Flitcroft) what an accurate and speedy tool it was for any mathematical calculation. I was truly humbled by the skill of both actor and writer in conveying almost Dora’s entire story in a few lines and with short but vivid scenes.

The Irish Hospitals Sweepstake was morally questionable from the outset and, behind the scenes, it soon descended into violence and corruption, particularly in the US where most tickets were sold. My favourite line in the play was Dora castigating one of the organisers, “I think violence metastasises, that’s what I think” and urging them to leave a more positive legacy for the sweepstake.

I took with me Dora’s 1950s cocktail dress for Maeve to try on after the show and it fitted her like a glove.

I hadn’t realised that the National Archives building was the old Jacob’s Biscuits site, one of Dublin’s largest employers in the interwar years, with a largely female workforce. This show is part of the National Archives’ centenary celebrations for the 1926 census, taking “the story of us” off the shelves and breathing life into it to create meaning and connection.

On arrival I was greeted warmly and thanked for coming. As if I would miss this unique opportunity! While we were waiting, I chatted to one of the other audience members and it turned out she’s a historian who also spoke at last year’s Women’s History Association of Ireland conference. Small world!

After the show I spoke with some of the cast and to writer and director Louise Lowe of ANU Productions. She sees Dora as another of Ireland’s unsung female actors in the history of the republic. I am so grateful to her for acknowledging Dora and raising her profile. Louise had previously created a show based on Emma Donoghue’s novel The Pull of The Stars (one of my favourite books, as it happens) starring Maeve as Dr Kathleen Lynn, so Dora is in exalted company.

ANU Productions graciously acknowledged my small contribution to The Good Luck Club in their brochure. I was thrilled to be able to answer questions about Dora, helping Maeve to prepare for the role and shaping the writing a little with my additional information.

The show is sold out but the lucky few with tickets have definitely won the lottery with this one!