The Huddle Theatre Company will perform its original play ''Ahhhh Lad!!'' in Garvey’s Pub, Eyre Square from Monday next, July 23, to Saturday July 28, in Garvey’s Pub, Eyre Square at 1pm daily. It will also be staged at The Cube in NUI, Galway from this Sunday, July 22 to Wednesday, July 25 at 8.30pm.

Ahhhh Lad!!, which is being staged as part of Galway Fringe Festival won Best Play at The Jerome Hynes One-Act Series in Galway in March. It then toured to Dublin for the ISDA Fringe Festival and was most recently performed in the Global Village Arena at the Volvo Ocean Race.

An annual St Patrick’s Week pilgrimage to New York sees two Irish friends, Jack and Tommy – played by Enda Clarke and Brian O’Donoghue – ‘drink it out of it’ in the city bars. The craic is mighty but a prank by his friend Tommy is the last straw for Jack, who feels the craic isn’t enough for him any more. He wants a life of purpose.

But Jack is surrounded by conflicting advice. There’s the in-the-know bar owner, Stan – played by Patrick O’Byrne – who sees great possibilities for Jack in New York. Then there’s his best friend, Tommy, whose motives may not be all in Jack’s interest.

Desperation, fear and loneliness are hidden beneath the unforgiving, cruel sentiments and boorish language that the characters pummel each other with relentlessly throughout the play.

Written and directed by Patrick O’Byrne, Ahhhh Lad!! is a funny and heartfelt look at the psyche of the modern Irish working-class male. It aims to make the audience question home values and the allure of the all American Dream.

Tickets are available on the door and can also be purchased online from galwayfringe.ie July 22-25 8.30pm, The Cube, Galway University (€12) July 23-28 1pm, Garvey’s Pub, Eyre Square (€5).