Gerry Farrell brings hilarious nursing home comedy HOQIA to Leitrim stages

A case of mistaken identity sparks chaos in a nursing home in Gerry Farrell’s latest comedy, HOQIA – Heck Of a Quality Inspection Assured, which comes to Ballinamore and Kiltyclogher this November. Following a successful summer run, including a sold-out performance at Sligo’s Hawk’s Well Theatre, the four-person production will take to the stage at the Island Theatre, Ballinamore, on Friday, November 6, before travelling to Tubbercurry on November 7 and Kiltyclogher on November 8.

Written, directed and performed by Farrell, the comedy takes a mischievous swipe at the world of healthcare inspections and the bureaucracy that can sometimes overshadow the realities of patient care. Set in the fictional Barran nursing home, the story begins when an inspector arrives to assess the facility. Farrell plays a resident living with dementia who mistakenly identifies himself as the nursing home manager.

“When the inspector arrives, I say I am the manager. She assumes I am, and it all goes out of control from there on in,” Farrell explained. What follows is a series of misunderstandings, mishaps and increasingly ridiculous encounters as staff attempt to navigate the inspection.

However, beneath the comedy lies a subject Farrell knows particularly well. Before turning his attention to the stage, he worked in dementia care education, training nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals.

“A lot of my day job, I used to train nurses and doctors in dementia care, so I know a lot of the hospital stuff,” he said. That experience inspired a comedy which, while designed primarily to entertain, also raises questions about the balance between paperwork and genuine patient care.

“Sometimes you get a really good nurse who hasn't time to have her paperwork up to scratch, but she's very good at what she does, and she ends up getting criticised. “And sometimes then you have a nurse who has all her paperwork done, but you wouldn't want her looking after you.”

Farrell is quick to emphasise that he recognises the importance of healthcare inspections, but believes there is plenty of room for humour in the system. “The older I get, I'm glad they exist,” he said.

He jokingly compares the production’s satirical approach to one of Ireland’s most famous television comedies. “I do call this sometimes what Father Ted was to the Catholic Church. I'm hoping HOQIA is to health inspections.” The humour has already struck a chord with healthcare professionals, including two inspectors who attended a performance in Sligo.

“I was talking to two inspectors after it in Sligo, and they just laughed out loud. They loved it,” he said. While the subject matter will be particularly familiar to nurses and carers, Farrell believes the play has a much wider appeal. He explained that audience members from outside the healthcare profession have recognised the frustrations of audits, inspections and excessive paperwork in their own workplaces.

“People said this to me afterwards that would know nothing about nursing, that it reflects all the audits they see in different kinds of work,” he said. Despite its underlying message, Farrell insists the production is first and foremost an evening of entertainment. “It's not meant to be anything except a bit of fun. Although hidden in it are a lot of tips on how to care for people with dementia.”

Farrell will already be familiar to local theatre audiences through his one-man show I Had to Go for Counselling, John McDwyer’s An Ordinary Man, numerous Beezneez productions and his more recent appearance in Pure Mule Productions’ The Kings of the Kilburn High Road. Unlike some of his previous work, HOQIA is an entirely independent production, with Farrell taking responsibility for both writing and directing.

The idea had been developing in his mind for several years before he completed the script around November last year. He subsequently workshopped the production, experimenting with scenes and refining the humour before bringing it to audiences this year. The four-person cast comprises Farrell, two nurses and an inspector, while a small production team helps bring the nursing home setting to life.

Farrell praised stage manager Noel O’Callaghan and lighting technician Alan Dunn for their practical support during the tour, particularly when adapting the production’s substantial set to smaller venues. The show has already enjoyed performances in Dublin, Donegal and Sligo, and Farrell is looking forward to bringing the comedy back to audiences in the northwest.

HOQIA – Heck Of a Quality Inspection Assured will be staged at the Island Theatre, Ballinamore, on Friday, November 6, followed by Tubbercurry on Saturday, November 7, and Kiltyclogher on Sunday, November 8. For anyone who has ever endured a workplace inspection, battled bureaucracy or simply enjoys a good Irish comedy, Farrell promises an evening filled with laughter — and perhaps a little food for thought.