Prestige Drama

‘BRILLIANT … GLORIOUSLY VIVID’ GUARDIAN
‘DISARMINGLY HILARIOUS’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘ROLLICKING … CAUSTIC, WITHERING AND GENUINELY FUNNY’ INDEPENDENT
‘FUNNY AND TRAGIC’ TLS
‘SUCH AN ENTERTAINING READ’ DAILY MAIL
‘BOISTEROUS’ NEW YORK TIMES
‘A COMEDY ABOUT TRAGEDY. BRUTAL, PROFOUND AND VERY FUNNY‘ NINA STIBBE

Derry is already abuzz with news that famous American actor, Monica Logue, has flown to the city and will be starring in a new series set during the Troubles. And then she goes missing …

All eyes are on Diarmuid, the flaky scriptwriter who was the last to see Monica alive. From budding young actors hoping for a role to grieving parent whose story forms the backbone of the narrative; newspaper editors covering the mystery to taxi drivers hearing all the news from their clients, Prestige Drama follows the city’s cast as they all try to locate themselves in Monica’s disappearance.

Séamas O’Reilly’s debut novel is a comedy about dramatising tragedy, and the responsibilities of a teller to a tale. It brings to life the voices of a city, the people, families and communities who find themselves obsessed with, and terrified of, interrogating their past.

‘VERY FUNNY … [O’REILLY] HAS A GIFT FOR CAPTURING STRANGE BEHAVIOUR AND THE COMEDY IN ALL OF OUR UGLY HUMANITY’ OBSERVER

‘SPARKLING WITH HEARTACHE AND WIT. I’M IN LOVE WITH EVERY CHARACTER’ CAROLINE O’DONOGHUE

‘BRISTINGLY FUNNY, RICHLY HUMANE. SÉAMAS O’REILLY HAS A RARE AND VITAL COMIC GIFT’ MARK O’CONNELL

‘I HOWLED WITH LAUGHTER. SÉAMAS IS A NATURAL STORYTELLER’ ANNIE MAC

‘A HILARIOUS AND PROFOUND NOVEL’ ED CAESAR

‘NOBODY ELSE COULD WRITE A BOOK LIKE THIS ABOUT TRAGEDY, LOSS AND WHO GETS TO TELL A STORY, WITH SUCH DEFT AND MOVING WIT’ EVA WISEMAN

‘O’REILLY IS A STARTINGLY PERCEPTIVE WRITER’ SPECTATOR