A gripping but warm-spirited snapshot of life in a small southern Irish town.



In the sleepy Irish town of Wexford, where shotgun weddings are outnumbered only by random acts of violence, the pool hall is Jimmy's sanctuary. But will such a place embrace his bright ambition, or bring it down, burning, to the ground?



Originally part of Billy Roche's The Wexford Trilogy, A Handful of Stars was first performed in 1988 at the Bush Theatre, where it won the John Whiting Award and the Plays and Players Award for Best New Play.



This edition was published alongside the play's first professional stand-alone revival at Theatre503, London. The text of the play is also available in The Wexford Trilogy.