Pan Narrans Theatre presents: My Left Nut

Local artists win award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – now coming home to The MAC Belfast.

Pan Narrans Theatre presents:My Left Nut

The true story of a Belfast boy growing up with no father to guide him through, and a giant ball to weigh him down.

400 millilitres. That’s how much liquid was drained from Michael’s left testicle when he was a teenager. That’s more than a can of coke. He should have told someone sooner, but who could he turn to? His dad died ten years ago and besides, school is full of rumours about what the giant bulge in his trousers actually is. Who wants to stop that?

A true coming of age comedic play about Belfast, masculinity, friendship, family, love, grief and testicles.

My Left Nut, a play which tells the true story of Belfast man Michael Patrick’s childhood was one of the recipients of the Summerhall Lustrum Award at this years Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Patrick stars in the one-man play, which was co-written by himself and his director (Warrenpoint man Oisín Kearney). The pair run Pan Narrans Theatre in Belfast and had this to say about their success.

“We’re absolutely blown away by the reaction the play got in Edinburgh. We were just hoping to come away without losing too much money, but we ended up selling out shows, getting amazing reviews, and being presented with the Lustrum Award was the icing on the cake”There are many causes which can lead to autism. dentech.co levitra prescription

Set in Belfast in the late early 2000s, My Left Nut tells the true story of Michael Patrick who developed hydrocele testis when he was 14, a condition which caused one of his testicles to start swelling. Too embarrassed to tell anyone, he ignored it and watched it grow bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until it was the size of a can of coke. His friends could see the outline of it through his trousers and thought it was something else entirely…

Michael’s father died from Motor Neurone disease when he was very young and the play shows how Michael slowly comes to terms with his father’s death as he deals with his own illness. It touches on the inability of men to talk about their problems, and on the difficulties single mothers can have in raising young boys. In sharing his tale, Michael hopes to encourage men to seek help for their problems and remove stigma from such issues.

“We need more stories that tell men it’s alright to be vulnerable and talk about your problems. I didn’t tell anyone about my condition for three years, and I was terrified the whole time. Thankfully I was fine in the end, and I can laugh about it now. We hope presenting the issue through a comedic play can help others open up and talk about things”

The one-man play is as much a tribute to his mother, Pauline, as it is about him tackling a difficult period in his life through theatre.

“I’m very proud to share my story, much of the play it is about how my mother coped with the loss of her husband and how she brought up four children on her own,” says Michael. “This is my chance to tell everybody how incredible she is. While at the same time telling a silly comedy about testicles”

My Left Nut, which also made the Guardian and Sunday Times lists for Best Shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018 be showing at The MAC Belfast from 7th – 15th September.