Interview – Myra’s Story – Trafalgar Theatre, London

The raw, funny, and deeply moving one-woman play, Myra’s Story, returns to London’s West End this April for a strictly limited engagement at Trafalgar Theatre, shining a human light on homelessness, addiction, and the fragile line between stability and survival.

Produced by Amber Allen, and performed by IFTA nominee Fíonna Hewitt-Twamley, this critically acclaimed solo show will play for just four performances on 12 April and 19 April (2pm and 6pm).

In the tradition of bold solo theatre, Myra’s Story blends raucous humour, devastating heartbreak, and Irish storytelling into a performance that is both entertaining and deeply affecting. While the show tackles difficult themes – including addiction, miscarriage, loss, and survival – it is also rich with warmth, character, and unexpected moments of levity.

Stripped back and immediate, this is theatre at its most human: one performer, one story, and an emotional impact that lingers long after the final moment.

Here we speak first with Amber Allen and discuss the create process behind the piece and then with Fionna Hewitt-Twamley about performing in such a powerful, intimate and unforgetable show.

• Amber, what made you want to get involved with Myra’s Story in the first place?
  • I was so moved when I saw the show in 2023, and when the team at Trafalgar Entertainment took it over, I jumped at the chance to be involved. I deeply believe that theatre is an amazing tool to bring people together and can deliver a strong message, and Myra’s Story does both of those things so well. I don’t think that we will change the world, but we can certainly change hearts and minds in the theatre night after night. There is also a fantastic charitable element which cemented it for me. When the show tours, we partner with local homeless charities to raise money and awareness. This time we are partnering up with The Connection at St Martins, the same charity we partnered with in 2023. Last time we helped raise a little over £7000 and this time, I’m determined to surpass that.
• Was there a moment during rehearsals where you thought, “okay, this is really going to get to people”?
  • Well, it was when I was watching it ‘get people’ for real. Myra’s Story in its current form has been going since 2019, and it only came into our care in 2023. So, when I saw the show for the first time, before taking it on, I brought some friends along, who don’t typically get teary eyed at anything and they fell apart! I cry at everything so I can’t use that as a barometer, but knowing that it touched them so much, as well as the rest of the theatre (you could hear little sniffles throughout the auditorium) showed me how powerful the piece is. It proves that you don’t need a cast of millions or a massive, intricate set piece to tell a moving story – one amazing performer and a bench is fantastically affective.
• What can audiences expect when they come along to the Trafalgar Theatre to see Myra’s Story?
  • To laugh and cry in the same breath! And to be taken on such a dynamic journey with Myra and her crew of characters at the helm.

• Fionna, what’s it like stepping into Myra’s shoes every night?
  • A privilege. To step into Myra’s shoes every night is firstly a privilege. A privilege to play a lady that is so real, to both myself and the audience. To use words, dialogue and vocal gymnastics to hold an audience for 90 minutes and not hear a sound in the theatre. And to carry a message subliminally, that the audience take with them, to see that Myra could be any one of us, at any stage of life, given any tragic circumstance that comes a knocking.
    Identifiable. Within a very true story of love, loss, addiction, resilience and strength, all carried off with the famous Irish humour and pathos combined. The audience can connect with various characters within the play, and sometimes see themselves, had they just made a different choice at any point in their lives.
    As an Actor. A challenge. With 16 characters, to play each character individually, with both voice and physicality, while keeping her connected to the audience, all the while breaking the fourth wall.
• Is there a scene that still gets to you, no matter how many times you perform it?
  • There are 2 scenes in particular. The first being when reality hits and she has lost the one true, meaningful, vulnerable person in her life that’s she had anticipated would be the constant. Having had so many losses thus far, she realises that nothing is forever – only death.
    The second is when she is truly under the influence of alcohol, and for the first and last time, she allows us into her world on the streets. Exposed, raw and honest, she tells it like it is every day for her within her life, no holds barred, no sugar coating. And the audience see, hear and feel what she endures being homeless, addicted, forgotten, invisible.
• If you could describe Myra in three words, what would they be?
  • Honest, resilient and broken.

Myra’s Story will be running alongside Oh, Mary! at the Trafalgar Theatre.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS
• Venue: Trafalgar Theatre, London
• Dates: 12 April & 19 April
• Times: 2pm and 6pm
• Tickets: From £25
• Age guidance: 14+