Is The Monk a play, a pity party or PR spin for Gerry Hutch?

What started as a one-man play about the life and times of Gerry Hutch became a two-hander this week when, in a curtain-raising surprise, Hutch himself appears on stage to deliver a prologue.Rex Ryan premiered his play The Monk – called after the widely used nick-name of his subject – last summer but for its second outing it moved to a much larger Dublin venue, The Ambassador, for a weeklong run.Ryan, who produces, stars and directs The Monk is, says Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally, a powerful presence on stage.Hutch, adds little says Lally – except audience pulling power. He went along to a performance to see how Hutch, whose career he has followed closely, is portrayed. He gives his plain-speaking review here.Lally found the section on the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin deeply distasteful and the extent to which RTÉ journalist Paul Reynolds lives rent-free in Hutch’s head simply bizarre.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.