The key point in the play is when a local teenager commits suicide, by drowning himself with stones in his pockets, after he is humiliated by one of the film stars.

The script calls upon the cast of two to perform all 15 characters (men and women), often switching gender and voice swiftly and with minimal costume change – a hat here, a jacket there.

Comedy also derives from the efforts of the production crew to create the proper "Irish feel" – a romanticised ideal that often conflicts with the reality of daily life.

The play began life as a Dubbeljoint Production premiering in West Belfast Festival in August 1996 - the original cast was Conleth Hill and Tim Murphy.

The set design, by Jack Kirwan, is simple - a backcloth depicting the cloudy sky above the Blasket Islands, a row of shoes (symbolising the myriad characters) and a trunk, a box, and two tiny stools.

The script was modified heavily during the rehearsal period by Marie Jones, Ian McElhinney and the cast with re-writes occurring regularly.

It was revived at London's Tricycle Theatre in 2011, with Jamie Beamish as Charlie and Owen McDonnell as Jake,[2] and at the Tron, Glasgow in 2012 performed by Robbie Jack and Keith Fleming.

[4][5][6] The original version of the play was created in collaboration with theatre director Pam Brighton (1946-2015), who later sued Marie Jones for co-authorship rights.