The Guide

Sara Keating: A charming slice of history, and cake, at Bewley’s theatre

Sam Ford’s Emergency brings to life the lot of a refugee in Ireland during WWII and takes the audience through the labyrinthine backrooms of the famous Grafton Street café – and there’s coffee and cake at the end

Sam Ford in Emergency at Bewley’s: one of Emergency’s most enjoyable aspects is the access it gives the audience to parts of the café that are no longer open

In February 1941, while the rest of Europe was fighting a war of massive historical consequence, Ireland was living through a period known as the Emergency. The government of the recently independent Irish Free State had chosen to remain politically neutral during the conflict, but its effects were still being felt by citizens. Fuel and food were rationed and refugees were trying to build new lives for themselves in a peaceful country.

In a new ...