In the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre
As a part of the New Works Summer Festival
Readings of 5 plays in 5 days, Spotlighting LGBTQ+ voices
By Ciara Elizabeth Smyth
Directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey
Featuring Una Clancy, Katie Fabel, Johnny Hopkins, Doireann Mac Mahon, Daniel Marconi, Jenn Murray, Ciarán O’Reilly
It’s a week before the opening of a new Irish play on Broadway and in the rehearsal room, the cast are panicking. The writer’s previous play was a smash hit, a drama set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. She’s been commissioned off the back of it and the producers expect another instant classic. Except her new play is about sexual harassment and talking seagulls. The cast are worried the script is dated, too weird and nowhere near Irish enough for American audiences. When the writer comes into the rehearsal room to watch a run, an argument erupts and the fate of the script hangs in the balance. Not wanting to blow their shot on Broadway, the cast feel it is now their duty to devise an “Irish Play”. Irishtown is a biting satire about theatre, consent and what it means to be Irish.
*Tickets for this reading are free with a suggested donation of $10
Not recommended for anyone under the age of 14.
The inaugural New Works Summer Festival is part of Irish Repertory Theatre’s New Play Development Program, which includes table reads, staged readings, workshops and commissions from voices that fulfill Irish Rep’s mission and tell stories of Irish and Irish-American people of all races, genders, abilities, and orientations. The program will provide opportunities for playwrights to further develop their work and enable Irish Rep to discover new plays and musicals for future production.
