FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR
TERESA DEEVY’S WIFE TO JAMES WHELAN
AT JERMYN STREET THEATRE
With the critically acclaimed, sell-out production of The Waves currently in performance, Jermyn Street Theatre and Mint Theater Company today announce full casting for a new production of Teresa Deevy’s Wife to James Whelan – a timeless story of love and pride which reintroduces Ireland’s forgotten genius to London audiences. Mint Theater Company’s Artistic Director Jonathan Bank directs Darragh Feehely (Bill McGafferty), Clíona Flynn (Nan Bowers), Eavan Gaffney (Kate Moran), Molly Hanly (Nora Keane), Fiach Kunz (James Whelan), Patrick McBrearty (Tom Carey), David Rawle (Apollo Moran), and Benjamin Reilly (Tom McClinsey).
Tracing seven years in the life of James Whelan, Deevy’s play explores ambition, compromise, and the role of women in Ireland, as personal desire collides with social expectation. The production opens on 1 July, with previews from 25 June, and runs until 25 July 2026 at Jermyn Street Theatre.
Jonathan Bank today said, “Wife to James Whelan is a play that challenges theatergoers to hear the unspoken thoughts of its characters—and there is no better place for that than the intimate Jermyn Street Theatre. Having worked on Deevy’s plays since Mint Theater Company launched the ‘Teresa Deevy Project’ in New York in 2010, I now look forward to learning from an exceptional Irish cast – assembled by the brilliant casting director Sarah Jones. Thank you, Stella and David, for the opportunity to continue this work in London.”
Stella Powell-Jones and David Doyle added, “Unfairly forgotten playwrights and plays can have no better advocate than Jonathan Bank and Mint Theatre Company. And Wife to James Whelan is an extraordinary play – and asks a question we still can’t answer. How much of ourselves are we willing to surrender for the joys and comforts of partnership? London audiences have waited far too long to encounter Teresa Deevy’s remarkable writing, but this glorious cast makes the wait more than worthwhile.”
Jermyn Street Theatre and Mint Theater present
WIFE TO JAMES WHELAN
by Teresa Deevy
25 June – 25 July 2026
Cast: Darragh Feehely (Bill McGafferty), Clíona Flynn (Nan Bowers), Eavan Gaffney (Kate Moran), Molly Hanly (Nora Keane), Fiach Kunz (James Whelan), Patrick McBrearty (Tom Carey), David Rawle (Apollo Moran), Benjamin Reilly (Tom McClinsey)Director: Jonathan Bank; Set Designer: Neil Irish; Costume Designer: Anett Black; Lighting Designer: Chris McDonnell;Composer and Sound Designer: Jane Shaw;Casting Director: Sarah Jones
1937, a small Irish town. Nan Bowers and her friends are waiting to hear which local lad has won a life-changing job in Dublin. James Whelan shows up triumphant and ready to celebrate with his sweetheart, Nan, only to discover that she has plans of her own. Seven years later, James comes home, flush with success. His return will affect not only Nan but the whole town.
Teresa Deevy was at the height of her fame when the Abbey Theatre rejected Wife to James Whelan amid the growing conservative backlash of the 1940s. Now, in 2026, Mint Theater’s Jonathan Bank makes an overdue reintroduction to Ireland’s forgotten genius with this timeless ensemble play that pits love against pride.
Teresa Deevy (1894 – 1963) was an Irish dramatist and writer. Her works include Katie Roche, A Disciple, Temporal Powers, The King of Spain’s Daughter, Reapers, The Wild Goose – all staged at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre. Among her other works are In Search of Valour, and Light Falling. Many of Deevy’s plays were adapted for radio: both The King of Spain’s Daughter and Wife to James Whelan were broadcast on the BBC, while Within a Marble City won first prize in the Radio Éireann drama competition of 1948.
Darragh Feehely plays Bill McGafferty. His theatre credits include A Misanthrope, A Streetcar Named Desire (Smock Alley Theatre), The House (Druid Theatre), Hammam, An Old Song, Half Forgotten (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), Hamlet (Mill Theatre Dundrum), The Glass Menagerie, Letters of a Country Postman (The Everyman, Cork), The Book of Names (Dublin Theatre Festival), The Flags (Cork Arts Theatre), and The (Not so) Quick Murder of Man (UK tour).
Clíona Flynn plays Nan Bowers. She is a recent graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her theatre credits include Mean Girls (Savoy Theatre). Her television credits include Doctors; and for film, Someone Borrowed.
Eavan Gaffney plays Kate Moran. Her theatre credits include Uncle Vanya, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Loved Ones (Smock Alley Theatre), King Lear, The Stewart of Christendom (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Breaking (Ireland tour), Children of the Sun, and The Loved Ones (Abbey Theatre, Dublin).
Molly Hanly plays Nora Keane. She is a recent graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her theatre credits include 855-For-Truth (The Bridge Theatre, Brussels and The Hope Theatre), and Youth’s The Season (Abbey Theatre, Dublin).
Fiach Kunz plays James Whelan. His theatre credits include Becoming Maggie, Extremities (The New Theatre, Dublin), Romeo and Juliet, Three Days of Rain (Mill Theatre Dundrum), and A Fear and Loathing Actor in Dublin (Edinburgh Festival Fringe – also writer). His television credits include The Walsh Sisters, Witness Number 3, Foundation, Red Election; and for film, Black ’47 and Lift.
Patrick McBrearty plays Tom Carey. His theatre credits include The White Handkerchief (The Millennium Forum), Belfast Actually, Belfast Actually 2 (Theatre at the Mill), Good with Faces (Dublin Fringe Festival), Volunteers (The Playhouse Derry), Richard III, New Speak, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lyric Theatre, Belfast), The Border Game (Lyric Theatre, Belfast and Ireland tour), Home Malone, The McCooeys (Grand Opera House, Belfast), and I Shall Wear Purple (Northern Ireland tour). His television credits include A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Blue Lights, Hope Street, and Heads & Tails.
David Rawle plays Apollo Moran. His theatre credits include Amsterdam, Afterwards (Dublin Fringe Festival), Youth’s The Season-?, A Night at the Movies (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), The Borrowers (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Danti-Dan (Ireland tour), and The Blackwater Lightship (Gaiety Theatre, Dublin). His television credits include Moone Boy, Drop Dead Weird, Falling for the Life of Alex Whelan, and Small Town, Big Story.
Benjamin Reilly plays Tom McClinsey. His theatre credits include Danny Ryan (Smock Alley Theatre), The Long Christmas Dinner (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), Mortal Sin (Bewley’s Café Theatre), and The Merchant of Venice (Mill Theatre Dundrum).
Jonathan Bank directs. He returns to Jermyn Street Theatre following the London premiere of Yours Unfaithfully (also Beckett Theatre, NYC). Other credits as Artistic Director of Mint Theater Company include Katie Roche, Temporal Powers, The Suitcase Under the Bed (all by Teresa Deevy), Yours Unfaithfully, The New Morality, Mary Broome, So Help Me God!, Is Life Worth Living?, The Fifth Column, The Return of the Prodigal, and Susan and God.
LISTINGS
WIFE TO JAMES WHELAN
16B Jermyn Street, London, SW1Y 6ST
Box Office: 020 7287 2875
www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk
THE WAVES
Running until 30 May 2026Monday – Saturday, 7:30pm
3pm matinees on Tuesdays and Saturdays
Relaxed Performances: Thursday 30 April at 7:30pm & Tuesday 12 May at 3pm
Captioned Performance: Monday 11 May at 7:30pm
Tickets from £18
WIFE TO JAMES WHELAN
25 June – 25 July 2026
Monday – Saturday, 7:30pm
3pm matinees on Tuesdays and Saturdays
Relaxed Performances: Tuesday 7 July at 3pm & Thursday 16 July at 7:30pm
Captioned Performance: Monday 13 July at 7:30pm
Tickets from £18