Ulster American – 25 April 2026

Worlds and words collide when actor Jay Conway (Matthew Broderick), director Leigh Carver (Max Baker), and playwright Ruth Davenport (Geraldine Hughes) tackle political correctness and basic human decency in an epic triangulation where everyone deserves respect but no one is willing to offer it. Set in present day London, Ulster American tells a story of desire to be liked overshadowing desire to be kind. These three artists are supposed to be coming together to work on Ruth’s new play, but instead end up offending each other and defending their own bad behavior as each has a different perception of both the words on the page and the world in which they are living.

The story starts with a discussion about white male privilege between white men, but as the show goes on both demonstrate a lack of desire to put their money where their mouths are and believe women on even a basic level. The text is fraught with uneasiness, as a lack of understanding quickly becomes a lack of desire to understand. For example, Jay praises Ruth’s script and the fact that it is violence written by a woman until it is clarified for him that the victims of the violence are Irish Catholics; Jay considers himself one even though he’s never been to Ireland. He cared about this being an Irish Catholic voice, which Leigh thinks it is because Ruth is a British citizen from Northern Ireland, even though Ruth does not consider herself Irish or Catholic.

All three actors have incredible stamina and give incredible performances that keep the show engaging and interesting as David Ireland’s script takes pass after pass at the same material, raising important questions about self determination, nationality, identity, and what it means to respect someone. Broderick’s character, Jay Conway, is slower than the other two to process what is happening around him, and becomes increasingly short sighted at the belief that Ruth and Leigh need him but not the other way around. Leigh is trying desperately to mellow out the absurd statements Jay is making and pull the wool over Ruth’s eyes about Jay’s understanding but just can’t seem to make it to the end of the line before Ruth has questions. Ultimately, Ruth has the upper hand in knowing she can pull the rights to the show, but she also needs the bump to her career more than either of the others. Almost arguing as nations themselves, these three live in an interdependent world where, whatever strong words are thrown around, they need each other.

Ulster American has minimal design changes; the characters are the life force of the show and they keep the audience riveted. The microcosm is powerful and thought provoking. Ultimately, it exposes the inherent self-centered nature of being human and what happens if the desire to react and retaliate is left unchecked. The subject material is fascinating, and all of the performances do it justice.

I attended this performance on a press pass from Print Shop PR.