MARIE Jones's football-themed A Night In November caused controversy when it first opened in 1994 thanks to its unflinching examination of the Protestant/unionist identity and stark depiction of rampant sectarianism in the stands of Windsor Park, Northern Ireland's home ground.
The one-man show centres on Kenneth McAllister, an east Belfast dole clerk raised to have an unhealthy suspicion of 'themmuns'. However, Kenneth is so appalled by the home crowd's behaviour during the November 1993 World Cup qualifying clash between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that he decides to 'defect' and follow Jack Charlton's boys in green to the USA the following year.
This real-life match was a 1-1 draw played out in a highly tense Belfast not long after the Shankill bombing and Greysteel massacre, two of the worst atrocities of the Troubles since the 1970s. Windsor erupted when NI striker Jimmy Quinn opened the scoring in the 73rd minute, only for Republic man Alan McLoughlin to silence the home crowd's roaring renditions of The Billy Boys just three minutes later, his vital equaliser sending his team onward to their second successive World Cup finals on the slimmest of goal-difference margins.
Premiering at Féile an Phobail in August 1994, the original production of A Night In November starring Dan Gordon resulted in Northern Ireland fan Jones being greeted at Windsor Park by less than good natured chants of "s***e in November" when disgruntled fans spotted her in the stands.
Fittingly, in 2019, Jones' actor-turned-director son Matthew revived A Night In November in revamped form for its 25th anniversary, this version starring Matthew Forsythe – a performer who was actually in the crowd at the match depicted in the play when he was a youngster.
Having enjoyed a sold-out run at the Lyric followed by an equally successful tour two years ago, Forsythe and McElhinney were due to take A Night In November to New York in 2020.
Sadly, Covid cancelled their plans – though a digitally broadcast recording of the show performed in Forsythe's dining room did reach an international audience of over 6,000.
The pair finally got A Night In November back in front of live audiences earlier this year with a run at London's Chiswick Playhouse during the summer, collecting a Best Production (regional transfer) gong at The British Pub Theatre Awards, while this week saw the one-man show returning to Belfast at The MAC.
"It was a completely different experience," admits the director of the home recorded version they prepared for the Irish Arts Centre in NYC.
"Obviously, you lost all the theatricality, but it also offered its own opportunities for creativity: we could do things with the perspective of the camera and we added in some props that we don't actually use on stage.
"However, it's definitely a much more gratifying experience whenever you see it on the big stage – even though the play is essentially a monologue, having that audience interaction helps with the intimacy of the performance.
"People at the MAC will get to see the show as it should be seen, so we're delighted to be bringing it back to the stage there."
McElhinney (32) has belatedly followed his mother and Derry Girls star father Ian McElhinney into the performing arts in recent years, playing in acclaimed farce Dog DLA Afternoon alongside Forsythe in 2019 before making his directorial debut with the revived A Night In November.
He believes that his mother's script has lost little of its provocative power even after 27 years.
"It strikes right to the core of the 'Northern Irish question', if you like," McElhinney explains, "that particular identity crisis that we have here.
"But it's also universal in its themes. It's about a guy's fight for his identity, a guy who has built a life around himself that he's just not happy in. The idea of being in a loveless marriage, a dead-end job, those things apply right across the world.
"The drama of the piece is, 'is it possible to change?'. And to do that, Kenneth has to basically destroy his own life and take off on a pilgrimage of sorts."
McElhinney adds: "African Americans in Harlem saw it as a play for them, the Jews on the east side saw it as a play for them. And the English response was great as well, so you can really take it anywhere."
As mentioned, the current version of A Night In November has been updated from the original 1994 version. McElhinney explains this was done because he wanted to acknowledge the 'journey' both Northern Ireland football fans and the north itself have been on over the past quarter of a century.
"Whenever it was first performed here, it was uncomfortably relevant," the director recalls.
"My brother Darren was a big Northern Ireland fan and he would always joke to mum that it was 'republican propaganda'. She was from a Protestant/unionist background, so it was really a critique of herself, but certainly at the time a lot of people were not ready for that.
"It was a very hard-hitting, close to the knuckle, controversial play. It's been great to do it, I suppose there's a kind of intimate understanding that I have of the work because I grew up with it and I know the writer better than anyone.
"The real sense of pressure I felt was the subject matter itself and there were criticisms about raking over the coals again, that Northern Ireland fans now compared to what they were like in the dark days of Windsor are just night and day different.
"I wanted to address all that, so we re-framed it in such a way that we're now looking back on what happened from Kenneth's perspective just as Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland fans are awarded the Grand Vermeil [for their exemplary behaviour] at Euro 2016. So it's now acknowledging that we have come forward as a society."
However, McElhinney admits that the local audience reaction to A Night In November can still vary depending on what colour the kerbstones outside the theatre are painted.
"When we went up to west Belfast, the audience reaction was raucous, they were all on their feet and they loved it," he says.
"Then we took it to east Belfast and the response was much more muted. It's uncomfortable when someone is holding a mirror up to you like that, it can make for uncomfortable viewing.
"And in fact part of our set is a massive mirror, so we're not shying away from that."
Excitingly, the director himself will soon be reflected in that mirror when he takes on the challenge of playing Kenneth and the myriad other characters involved in A Night In November for one performance on November 26.
He admits he has big shoes to fill.
"When we were casting, Matt's audition was so good that I actually said 'I hope they're not all as good as that or we're going to have trouble'," recalls McElhinney.
"He's a perfect Ken, so it certainly felt like the stars aligned for us. And now that I'm going to be taking on the role myself, it's given me a huge appreciation for what he has to do every night – it makes you realise just what a beast this show is."
:: A Night in November is at The MAC in Belfast until November 28. Tickets and showtimes via themaclive.com.
