Peter Sheridan

Philomena is 5'6" and 250 lbs. She leaves her abusive husband and five children and seeks asylum at a convent, where she starts working at the adult Day Center, and begins to shake things up. Two sworn enemies make amends, Philo beings working, gets her kids back, and confronts her demons. Her final act of revenge is both grotesque and somehow satisfying. Lots of questions remain at the end, although a few problems are too neatly solved.

My book club applauds Philo's "forward!" attitude regarding her life (and others'). We just fell in love with her.… (more)

I forget who said that nostalgia is longing for a place that you would never go back to but in the case of Dublin theatre in the 70's and 80's, I'm sure that the author could only agree. Dublin theater owes a debt to the Project Arts Center, of which the author was a founding member. Without the Sheridans and the other passionate rebels of the time, I'm not sure what the city would have produced as an alternative to the Abbey and the Gate and the perennial pantos and imported musicals in the Gaiety and the mixed bag that was the Olympia, which sufficed for what theatre had on offer at the time. The author writes of the era with an honesty, an anger and a fondness, all mixed into a lovely prose that engages as much as it enrages; which is no mean feat, at all. I was sorry to see it finish as I wanted to read on and find out what happened next: America, is it? I do hope that the author is busy at work on the follow-up.… (more)