Letterkenny artist Gráinne Curistan to premier new solo show at An Grianan
With Saving for a Helicopter, Curistan offers audiences a raw, funny, and profoundly human account of living with chronic illness, grounded in her Donegal upbringing and told with compassion, courage, and unmistakable theatrical flair
From a childhood belief that she and her father were saving for a family helicopter, to the life-altering realities of genetic illness, Saving for a Helicopter is a deeply personal new solo performance from Letterkenny-born theatre-maker Gráinne Curistan.
Darkly funny, tender, and unflinchingly honest, the show follows Gráinne’s journey from carefree childhood into adulthood, where a hereditary kidney disease long shadowing her life finally demands centre stage.
Through vivid storytelling, music, and sharp wit, Gráinne brings to life a memorable cast of characters, family members, doctors, nurses, and her younger self, capturing moments of absurdity, fear, humour, and resilience with striking emotional clarity.
At its heart, Saving for a Helicopter is an exploration of illness, identity, and inheritance. It asks what we carry from those we love, what lives within our bodies, and how we continue forward when there is no escape route, only the fragile, stubborn persistence of hope.
Gráinne Curistan is an actor, writer, and singer with over 15 years’ experience writing, producing, and performing theatre nationally and internationally. A graduate of the MPhil in Theatre & Performance at Trinity College Dublin, she was named an Axis Assemble Artist in 2023 and is the Founder and former Artistic Director of At Large Theatre Company, which operated from 2010–2020.
Her writing credits include The Meeting (Edinburgh Fringe 2016), Anecdotal Evidence (Scene + Heard 2017), and Birth Story (TCD European Research Night 2023). Recent acting credits include Animal Farm 2: The Moosical (Scene + Heard 2025), Show Jumps by One Giant Leap Presents (rehearsed reading, Scene + Heard 2025), Man of Straw (short film, 2024), Birth Story (TCD 2023), A Little Heart (Scene + Heard 2019), and Nowhere Now (Edinburgh Fringe 2017).
With Saving for a Helicopter, Curistan offers audiences a raw, funny, and profoundly human account of living with chronic illness, grounded in her Donegal upbringing and told with compassion, courage, and unmistakable theatrical flair. The show runs from June 25 to 27 June at An Grianan Theatre.