Áine Ryan has garnered rave reviews in theaters all over Ireland and in Scotland and San Francisco. (Photo courtesy of San Francisco International Arts Festival)

by Len Lear

It’s hard to believe that Aine Ryan is a mere 23-year-old who may even look younger than that. At her callow age, where many contemporaries are lucky to have an entry-level job these days, Aine, who grew up in a tiny country village called Upperchurch in County Tipperary, Ireland, is already a budding Eugene O’Neill or Sean O’Casey, in other words, a great Irish playwright. Also a phenomenal actress.

Ryan will be starring in her own one-woman play, “Kitty in the Lane,” for one night only at the Commodore Barry Club, aka The Irish Center, 6815 Emlen St., on Saturday, Dec. 12, 8 p.m. The play has already garnered the kinds of stunning reviews that are normally reserved for the classics that have stood the test of centuries. It has played to full houses and long standing ovations at many theaters in Ireland, Scotland and San Francisco.

“Kitty in the Lane” tells the story of a 20-year-old girl living in an isolated cottage in rural southwest Ireland with her elderly father. In addition to caring for her father, Kitty is managing the family farm alone, due to her brother’s recent death. The action takes place on the eve of a local beauty pageant with Kitty waiting for her boyfriend to escort her to this event, escaping domestic duties. The play is a dark drama about Kitty’s life as a young woman in a lonesome environment, but it is also checkered with Kitty’s witty observations and anecdotes of her own reckless activity in the past.

According to Charles Kruger, of theatrestorm.com, “It is a life of grinding poverty and oppression of every imaginable sort. There is sexual abuse, emotional abuse, death, rape and more. It is unrelenting. And yet, we see glimpses of a charming lass, a beautiful, intelligent, loving lady, and in the midst of our horror at what she has become, we are charmed and saddened by the glimpses of what she might have been.

“All of this is presented by Ryan in a fabulously accomplished piece of acting in which she creates an entire community of characters from Kitty’s competitive best friend to … a corrupt constable who raped her at her own brother’s funeral. It is a devastating indictment of systemic poverty, unchecked patriarchy and the damage it wreaks on the innocent.

“How devastating? Even though there is no nudity or obvious obscenity, several audience members walked out on the performance which I attended. They were clearly upset by the intensity of the piece. Those who remained, however, experienced a profound catharsis by the time it was over, and the applause was appropriately thunderous.”

Is “Kitty” based on Ryan’s own life? “It's fiction,” she insisted during our recent interview, “and thankfully is not based on my own life. However it's set in a community like the environment I grew up in. Agriculture is the main form of employment, and Kitty feels a strong connection to the land and her heritage. Oh, and it's a very neighborly environment, but at the same time crazy happenings can take place within a home without anybody being wise to it, so it's quite private too.”

Ryan studied theatre and performance at Goldsmiths, University of London, as well as the British Broadcasting System Writers’ School, which prompted her to write “Kitty,” which was light years ahead of anything one would expect from a student. She submitted it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival along with thousands of other applicants, and it was selected to be staged.

Several festival directors saw the show in Edinburgh and were impressed enough to bring it elsewhere, including numerous theaters in Ireland and San Francisco, where Ryan performed the show for two weeks in May of this year.

Here are some typical review blurbs: “An intense, poetic study of loneliness, cruelty and rural isolation, ‘Kitty in the Lane’ is a mesmeric continuation of the Irish literary tradition. Five stars!” (Broadway Baby)

“Áine Ryan is a wondrous actor. A full-blooded, committed portrayal of a woman in lonely, mental decline. This is visceral monologue in the hands of a superb performer. Highly recommended.” (Fringe Review)

How does Ryan feel about the great critical reviews of "Kitty?" (Silly question) “Wonderful! After all the hard work and commitment, it feels great if critics applaud the work. However, at the end of the day, art is so subjective that what one person adores another person might not, so it's important to put reviews into perspective, I believe. I think the most important person to satisfy is yourself. If the artist is proud of the work, that's the key ingredient.”

What are the pros and cons, if any, of having so much success at such a young age? “At 23, I'm delighted to have success with ‘Kitty in the Lane,’ of course. I think success is wonderful and should be embraced at any age, be it at 16 or 60. It's important for young writers to establish themselves so we can encourage other young writers and artists that it's a worthwhile profession to pursue. I really love to travel, so I think the best advantage is getting to see new places, courtesy of my work.”

Ryan and her parents happen to be friends with a few people involved with the Commodore Barry Club in West Mt. Airy. One of them, Liza Bresnan, introduced Aine to Anne McNiff, who does publicity for the club and has since accompanied Liza to the Ryan family home and pub in Tipperary. “I knew I was going to be in NYC until December,” said Aine, “so between us we thought it would be a good idea to bring the play to Philadelphia, and we set about arranging it.”

Ryan also wrote a play called "Templemore" that was part of the Dublin Fringe Festival in September. It's about a young student who reconciles a relationship with a much older man, despite protests from friends, family and society. The playwright calls it a “doomed love story.” She is also currently finishing another play and wrote the script for a short film that was filmed in October. She plans to do a lot more screen acting and writing also, so do not be surprised if you see her on movie screens in the future.

For more information about the Dec. 12 performance, visit www.philadelphiaceiligroup.org or call 215-843-8051.