Told against the backdrop of Dublin's burgeoning gay rights movement of the 1980s and 1990s and the contemporary LGBTQ+ community of today, Once Before I Go explores the bonds of Irish queer lives across three decades in Dublin, London and Paris.

This Student Edition includes commentary and notes by Fintan Walsh, Birkbeck, University of London, UK, which look at the play's themes of sexuality, emigration, time and relationships, as well as its style as a realistic three-part drama that draws on queer performance aesthetics, such as drag, camp, music, idioms and queer culture references.

It also considers the cultural context of the world of the play for the gay community compared to today's world in which queer rights and representation have become the relative norm.

The edition includes an original interview with the playwright.

Once Before I Go is a play that implores us to join the dance, to live fully, to live without judgment, to live well. * Irish Times *
McMahon's dark-humoured, powerful play says more about Ireland than reams of opinion columns. * The Times *
A decades-spanning drama that showcases depth of character and emotional grounding. * Drama & Theatre *

Philip McMahon is a playwright and theatre director based in Dublin, Ireland. His plays include Come On Home (Abbey Theatre, nominated by Best New Play in the 2019 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards) and Town is Dead (Abbey Theatre, nominated for five Irish Theatre Awards, 2017). He is also Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, UK.

Fintan Walsh is Professor of Performing Arts and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, where he is Head of the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication.