“I’m gonna tell you a story. Well, three stories. One life. Mine.”

Best known for Sex Education, Conor Clarke McGrath is back on home turf in Cardiff with Play, which premieres at Porter’s, a vibrant, community-run venue at the heart of Cardiff’s creative scene.

Conor Clarke McGrath took on quite the challenge when he wrote his hour-long play, Play. He played all nine characters himself, including Nicky Flood, a troubled nightclub owner whose life unravels almost as quickly as his business. The play explores mental health, alcoholism, and death, and the complicated nature of human relationships, following Nicky and his desperate attempt to save his club, his brother Richie’s return and subsequent arrest, and his complicated relationship with Petra, his love interest. It’s fair to say Nicky has a lot on his plate, and none of it looks particularly easy to digest.

McGrath plays all the main roles himself, switching between Nicky and Petra, Will, who works at the club, Nicky’s mum, his housemate, and his accountant—and that’s not even the full list.

McGrath’s journey into theatre took him to École Philippe Gaulier in France, where he explored acting, clowning and comedy before moving into stand-up. After relocating to Dublin, he channelled his experiences into writing Play, bringing together the absurdities of everyday life with its more painful truths. It’s a demanding task, although at least he doesn’t have to worry about anyone else forgetting their lines.

What makes Play particularly interesting is its willingness to tackle difficult subjects without losing its sense of humour. His message is a simple but important one: life can take an unexpected turn for any of us, and nobody has everything as under control as they might like to think.

There is something refreshing about using humour to explore subjects that can be uncomfortable to talk about. Sometimes we laugh because something is funny; sometimes it’s because the truth is a little too close to home. Play seems to make room for both, finding the comedy in life’s messiness without losing sight of the people caught up in it.