Myra’s Story: how a haunting tale of homelessness became a word-of-mouth hit

Foster always had faith in his play. “When people see Myra on stage, they immediately associate with her. And that hasn’t changed.” But it was when actor Fíonna Hewitt-Twamley came on board in 2018 that things really clicked into place. “She came into the audition and I knew straight away that I’d found the authentic voice of Myra. We’ve never looked back,” Foster says.

Since then, the play has become something of a word-of-mouth phenomenon, with four Edinburgh Fringe runs, a West End transfer and a touring production that has now reached more than 250,000 theatregoers across Ireland, the UK and North America. “It is absolutely amazing. In all that time, I’ve never not received a standing ovation,” Hewitt-Twamley says.

That’s because her interpretation of Myra is full-bodied and entirely visceral. “She’s not sugar-coated. She’s rough and she’s ready and she’s feisty and she swears and she gives it back,” Hewitt-Twamley says. 

Initially, we meet her on the streets, but the play moves back through her life, taking us through her traumatic childhood, her marriage and her alcohol addiction. One thing is clear throughout: Myra could be any of us; hers is an ordinary life painfully undone by circumstance. “She started out with a very everyday life. Tragedy came about and things changed, and that is what made her rely on something outside herself,” she adds.

‘I just wanted to show people what a life that’s been broken is like’ – writer Brian Foster

For Hewitt-Twamley, becoming Myra is an act of transformation and a role she feels she has been preparing for her whole life. “I’d always annoy my family and friends because I’d walk around Dublin and ask people for their backstory,” she laughs. “I’d ask: ‘How did you get here? Where are you from?’ That sort of thing.” She is sure this has made her performance all the more convincing. “I draw on that when I play Myra,” she admits. 

Her stint as Myra has been nothing short of a tour de force. And it is clear that Hewitt-Twamley wants her to be as true to life as possible. In the seven years she has played Myra, Hewitt-Twamley has always blacked out her teeth, dirtied her hair and hands, and she has not washed her costume once. “It could literally walk to you,” she jokes. “As actors, we should use all of our senses. When I put Myra’s costume on, I can smell her, and it takes me right into her head.” 

Her performance is so realistic that audience members have shouted back at her during the show, climbed on stage, given her food and even tried to hand her money. “People are just so invested in Myra,” she says. "With the fourth wall being broken, this is very much a two-way show."

During the show, Hewitt-Twamley also plays 15 other characters. “They all need to have an individual identity. The play is very, very fast moving,” she says. Aesthetically, the production has been kept minimal. “There is a bench, a bag, a bottle and Myra, and that’s it,” she says. “It takes away the fluff. The focus is completely on Myra.”

Foster, who also directs, wanted this simplicity right from the start. “I’ve had some requests over the years, saying: ‘Why don’t you put a set in?’ Or: ‘Why don’t you do any lighting changes?’ But she completely holds the audience with her performance. It doesn’t need anything else.” Despite being with the show since 2018, Hewitt-Twamley still feels a newness to Myra night on night. "Even though the script never changes, Myra still does. It very much depends on where I am in my heart that day." 
Charity donations have always been a part of Myra’s Story. “They absolutely had to be,” Hewitt-Twamley says. “There was no point going on stage and portraying a character without giving back, it just wouldn’t have worked. Ninety-five percent of people walk out of the show and give money.”

So far, Myra’s Story has raised a little more than £320,000 for charity. “The audience has just seen a life with so much promise end on the streets. I think they probably feel pure pity for her.” During its next stint at the Trafalgar Theatre, the production will be partnering with the Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields, a homeless charity that works with people who are rough sleeping to move away from, and stay off, the streets of London. In 2023, the show managed to raise £7,100 for the charity and hopes to raise even more this time.
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Still, Foster is clear that he did not make Myra’s Story to preach. “I just wanted to show people what a life that’s been broken is like,” he says simply. “I want people to form their own judgements and opinions and take what they can from Myra.”

It is clear Myra has a unique ability to connect with people. “People have come back 14, 15 times,” Foster beams. “Some have even said they wanted to come back straight away.” 

After years of being asked for “more Myra”, Foster has even finished a novel, due to be published in the autumn, about her story. Why do people resonate with her so deeply, I wonder? “She has a multifaceted personality,” Hewitt-Twamley says. “She’s not afraid to be raw and show her pain, but she also bolsters that with humour. It’s not all bad. You can still hope for the best for her.”

For Foster, this balance was key. “I couldn’t write a 90-minute misery fest,” he says. “Everybody you see on the streets has had good times in their lives. They’ve had laughter, they’ve had times full of love, or moments where they’ve found happiness with someone. It’s just that, for some reason, it has all fallen apart.” It is this, he thinks, that has helped shift perceptions. 

“The best compliment I’ve had is when people say they’ll never look at someone on the streets the same again. It’s magic that this show can do that.” 

Myra’s Story runs at the Trafalgar Theatre, London, from 12th-19th April