Once a Catholic

Synopsis

London, 1956. In a convent school in Harlesden, young girls navigate the treacherous waters of faith, repression, and rebellion.

Mary Mooney, a plain and dowdy fifth former, finds herself constantly at odds with the strict Catholic dogma enforced by her teachers, Mother Peter, Mother Basil, and Mother Thomas Aquinas. Alongside her classmates, including the pretty and popular Mary McGinty and the sensible Mary Gallagher, Mary Mooney struggles to reconcile her burgeoning independence with the rigid indoctrination of her convent school.

Edna O’Brien’s witty and insightful comedy explores themes of religious repression, sexual awakening, and youthful rebellion in 1950s Britain. Through a series of amusing yet poignant episodes, the play reveals the girls’ creative ways of coping with the authoritarian regime imposed upon them.