Inside — Kevin O'Malley

The year is 1961, the place, Ireland. Inside a monastery is Brendan O'Kane who, at thirteen years of age, has been recruited into the Irish Christian Brothers. Does he have a true vocation? The recurring doubt causes him sleepless nights. Furthermore, he is confused about his awakening sexuality, repressed totally as it is by the Catholic Church in Ireland of the sixties and by his vow of chastity. Years later, he is faced with a momentous decision: he must decide once and for all if the price he has paid has really been worth it . . . INSIDE will strike a chord with many who grew up in the fifties and sixties, who remember the smells of the classroom and dancehall in those pre-deodorant days, the taste of fried bread and the sounds of the hymns and popular songs of the era - not to mention the swish of the leather strap. INSIDE is a must for those who have had their own experience of the Brothers - or who may have heard about them in recent news stories worldwide - and who would like to know what made them tick, what made them so successful in their heyday, and what made some of them, at least, dysfunctional. Other works on a similar theme: THE BOYS OF ST VINCENT'S (Canadian tv docudrama), THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND (Australian film), THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS (Australian one-man-play), and from Ireland, STATES OF FEAR (tv documentary), GIVE UP YER AULD SINS (animation), THE MAGDALENE SISTERS (film) and SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY (novel and film).