Written by Michael Cameron from Little Willow Productions and starring Libby Smyth as Ruby Murray, Ruby! is a one-woman play about the 1950s singing sensation hailing from Northern Ireland. Born on Belfast’s Donegall Road, Ruby Murray went on to top the bill at the London Palladium and is the only artist in history to have five records in the UK top twenty in the same week.
Despite the accolades and hit songs, Ruby had a troubled life thanks to poor management and a tumultuous relationship with alcohol, and Ruby! does a wonderful job of exploring the darker sides to her story instead of just focusing on the highlights.
Told in the intimate setting of Ruby’s favourite nursing home chair, we join the star on a wistful look back through Ruby Murray’s life; from singing in the pub for her father’s friends as a girl to being locked in a shed with rats while being evacuated during the war. Interspersed with some of Ruby Murray’s greatest hits throughout, this is a unique perspective on the standard “young star rises to fame” narrative we’re used to seeing so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the grittiness that the wonderful Libby Smyth brought to the role, and the fact that Ruby’s whole history was laid bare for the audience to see.
The play was developed with access and support from Ruby’s immediate family including her first husband Bernie Burgess, their son Tim Murray as well as creative support from, the late, well-known writer, director and actor Sam McCready. This new production of the show is directed by Colm G Doran and features new material and additional set design from the original.
Remaining tour dates are: 13 March – Down Arts Centre, Downpatrick, 20 March – Riverside Theatre, Coleraine, 28 March – Portico Arts Centre, Portaferry, 3 April – Island Arts Centre, Lisburn, 4 April – The Playhouse, Derry, 9 May – An Grianan Theatre, Letterkenny, 22 May – Seamus Heaney Homeplace, Bellaghy.
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