Ballymena actress stars in knife-edge drama

The critically acclaimed drama The Long Road received its Northern Ireland premiere at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast this week where it runs until October 21 in the Naughton Studio.

The play was originally set in London but has been adapted to a Belfast setting with a stunning local cast and is directed by the Lyric’s own Artistic Director, Richard Croxford.

“It has been a very emotional play for all the cast as it deals with issues of murder, grief and the difficult path to forgiveness,” said Jo.

“We met with Victim Support NI among others to discuss the issues raised by the play which really helped us get into the very demanding roles.”

The play tells the story of two brothers, Joe and Dan, who go out for the night but one never comes home. Eighteen-year-old Dan dies from a single stab wound inflicted by a young woman, Emma Price (Bernadette Brown) who is ‘off her head’ on drugs.

The whole family struggles to deal with their loss which reaches a heart-rending climax when their mother Mary (Sheelagh O’Kane) seeks to meet her son’s killer in prison. Jo plays the crucial part of a prison visitor who volunteers to work with inmates and she meets the murderer Emma Price on the inside.

Jo, a former pupil of Ballee High School, trained at RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London and has a long list of theatre and TV credits, including The Bill to her name.

Gilly Campbell from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, which is the play’s principal funder, said: “The Lyric has provided an outstanding cultural programme over the past 40 years and it continues to generate some of the most groundbreaking and innovative theatre that Northern Ireland has to offer. The Long Road is a hard-hitting yet powerful play that deals with a family’s emotional journey to forgiveness after their son is stabbed. A portrait of grief, the play is unfortunately all too topical in today’s modern society and will undoubtedly resonate with audiences here.”