My Right Foot
Axis Ballymun
★★★★★
There are moments when performance and lived experience amalgamate to make theatre a mirror to life itself. My Right Foot, directed by Oisín Kearney, is one of them.
Written and performed by Michael Patrick, this 70-minute one-man show is a deeply personal chronicle of the motor neuron disease that spreads from his right foot. It is the same illness that claimed his father’s life. Yet, instead of tragedy, Patrick gives a masterclass in humour, honesty and resilience.
As the light comes up, Patrick is listening to a song, sitting on the right of the stage in his state-of-the-art chair. What follows is a stunning performance, made luminous by Patrick’s sharp wit and rawness.
“I could have written a book on my story, and could have become a New York Times bestseller and earned millions,” he says while charting his rapidly changing life. But he chose theatre because it’s “a lot like life: it’s here until it isn’t”. This poetic reflection on the fragility of existence becomes the heartbeat of the production.
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Jonny Daley’s nuanced lighting design and Katie Richardson’s deft soundscapes work together to create a living landscape of memory as Patrick takes us from the warmth of his family in Belfast to the cold reality of medical consultations in Dublin.
Marc Brew and Paula O’Reilly’s well-thought-out choreography turns every movement into resilience. He recounts the moment he learns of his rare genetic condition and jokes about the “terminal Olympics” as the only Irish representative on a drug trial.
The humour is irresistible, but it often lands just before a heartbreak, making laughter and sorrow indistinguishable.
Patrick’s deep love for Shakespeare shines through as he recalls having written his own spin on King Lear with a terminal illness, explaining his fate. (He has also staged one on Richard III with Kearney.) At one point he performs an evocative set piece as an ode to his old drama teacher Gwyneth Murdock, who died in 2024. This burst of theatrical energy is a reminder that he is not merely telling his story but living it right before the audience.
The play’s emotional core is its depiction of love and companionship, especially the profound tributes Patrick pays his wife, Naomi, his strongest pillar.
His reflections on lost freedoms, such as not being able to visit the pub because of the steps at the door, speak volumes about everyday exclusion and the myth of accessibility. He skewers tokenistic inclusion with razor-sharp humour, joking that his condition now makes him a “diversity hire” and increases the chances of getting funding for his plays.
When Patrick learns that his much-hoped-for treatment was only a placebo, the story takes a devastating turn. Yet its denouement is one not of collapse but of rising. In the final moments an Irish pub scene bursts to life; the audience claps along; laughter ripples through the auditorium. Patrick leaves us with simple advice: “Don’t overthink it. Eat, drink and love.”
Runs at Axis Ballymun, as part of Dublin Theatre Festival, until Friday, October 10th
