Irish Rep Online 2021

We are so excited to announce our New ’22 Season!

As the new year begins, we are delighted to present two in-person productions – the return of Eugene O’Neill’s A Touch of the Poet to our mainstage and the World Premiere of Ciara Ní Chuirc’s Made By God in the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre.

In the first week of March we announced two new upcoming productions: Two By Synge, a pairing of early masterpieces by JM Synge, inspired by the stories he heard and witnessed while living among the Irish; and the world premiere of Belfast Girlsby Jaki McCarrick, directed by Nicola Murphy (A Girls is a Half-formed Thing, Pumpgirl).

Tickets are now available for our upcoming shows, so be sure to book your tickets!

A Performance on Screen

Irish Repertory Theatre
In association with Bonnie Timmermann
Presents 
The Cordelia Dream

By Marina Carr
Directed by Joe O’Byrne

Starring Stephen Brennan and Danielle Ryan

“It [the play] is an exceptional instance of filmed theatre that uses the tools and challenges of an altered medium and mode of experience to heighten the stakes of its story.” – The Indiependent

“A merciless and captivating piece of work.” – Katy Hayes, The Irish Independent

In a response to one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, the North American premiere of Marina Carr’s play comes to life on screen with the mysterious and tense confrontation of woman and man. When Woman, haunted by her dream of Cordelia and King Lear, confronts Man, their disturbed relationship is exposed. As his protege, she has come seeking enlightenment, but he orders silence in exchange for artistry and concession. 

Fast forward five years, and she returns again for one final visit. Will the two be able to see eye to eye? Or will the meeting lead to mutually assured destruction? The Cordelia Dream continues to cement Marina Carr’s status as one of Ireland’s most acclaimed living playwrights with her deep insight into the complex nature of families and how we handle the darkness within.

Irish Rep is proud to present the North American premiere of The Cordelia Dream by Marina Carr, one of Ireland’s most acclaimed living playwrights. Carr is the author of more than 20 published plays, and has won numerous awards, including The Irish Times’ playwright award. The Cordelia Dream was commissioned by The Royal Shakespeare Company and closed their 2008 season at Wilton’s Music Hall in London. A rehearsed reading was produced in November 2020 in Cork’s Everyman Theatre.

Read the performance program here!

“The harrowing work hits even deeper at a time when loved ones are reuniting after the long pandemic lockdown” – This Week in New York City

““With echoes of Stringberg and Shaw, Ibsen and Synge, Carr evokes them all in minutes without copying any of them, creating a world that is uniquely hers.” – Theater Pizzazz

““[Danielle] Ryan is a Shakespearean heroine in her own right…[Stephen Brennan] delivers a layered performance…the perfect emotional countermelody” – Theatrely

SPECIAL THANKS:

Anthony Fox, Eva Walsh, Rhona Gouldson, Archie Chen, and a very special thanks to the Howard Gilman Foundation for their support of our digital initiatives. 

The Cordelia Dream was first presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Wilton’s Music Hall on December 11, 2008.

A Performance on Screen

A Theatre Royal Waterford and Throwin Shapes Production

Written by Jamie Beamish & Anne O’Riordan

Directed for streaming by Jamie Beamish
Originally directed for the stage by Aidan Kelly

Starring Anne O’Riordan

GHOSTING: noun; The practice of ending a personal relationship with somebody by suddenly, and without explanations, withdrawing from all communication. 

Sí never sleeps well. Sí never remembers her dreams. But she wakes up in the middle of the night to find Mark, who ghosted her six years ago, standing at the end of her bed in London. What the f*ck? Now she must face her demons and go back to the last place on Earth she wants to be. Waterford. Home.

Irish Rep is proud to present the North American premiere of Waterford natives Anne O’Riordan’s (Call the Midwife, Doctors) and Jamie Beamish’s (Bridgerton, Derry Girls) tragic-comic new play. First premiering to sold-out audiences in London, O’Riordan and Beamish brought their collaboration home to Theatre Royal, Waterford in 2019. This production of Ghosting was streamed live online from Theatre Royal in April 2020. 

Read the performance program here!

SPECIAL THANKS:

Irish Repertory Theatre wishes to thank the Howard Gilman Foundation.

A New York Film Premiere 

Directed by Frank Shouldice
Produced by Trisha Canning & Cormac Hargaden of Loosehorse Productions

May 25 and May 26, 2021

★★★★ “A fascinating story about the passion of belief.” – Sunday Business Post

The Man Who Wanted to Fly tells the irresistible story of 80-something bachelor farmer Bobby Coote from Cavan who has had a lifelong dream to fly a plane. Enlisting the help of his neighbor Seán, the two set out to build their own field of dreams, cutting out a runway in Seán’s farm and even building a hangar in this small rural community. Bobby will get no encouragement from his brother Ernie, another octogenarian in the Coote family home. Ernie thinks the whole thing is daft, but Bobby is determined to take to the skies if it’s the last thing he does.

Capturing the wonder of one man’s dreams The Man Who Wanted to Fly is a unique journey into a disappearing border hinterland and is sure to delight audiences all over the world.

Following acclaimed festival screenings at the Galway Film Fleadh, Guth Gafa, and winner of the Audience Award at the IFI Documentary Film Festival, The Man Who Wanted to Fly landed in cinemas across Ireland in March of 2019. To date, the film has won 11 awards internationally including the Best Feature Documentary at the Barnes Film Festival, London and Alvsbyn Film Festival, Sweden. 

Advance registration is required. 

RESERVE NOW

Irish Rep is committed to making art that is affordable and accessible. In pursuit of this goal, we have chosen to make this event free to the public. We ask that if you are in a position to support us, you might consider making a donation. Your contribution will ensure that we can continue to offer top-quality events, hire artists and actors, and be ready to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so.

Prior to your chosen screening, the link to our Theatre @ Home platform (athome.irishrep.org) will be emailed to registered attendees. To access the show, you MUST register for your chosen screening with an active Irish Rep email address and password, and use that Irish Rep email address and password to log in to our platform.

If you book less than 2 hours before the event begins, or do not receive the pre-show email outlined above, you can access your screening by heading to the Theatre @ Home platform, athome.irishrep.org, and log in using your Irish Rep email address and password (the same login information used to book the performance). Your chosen screening will be under the heading “Digital Stage.”

LIVE PRODUCTION FAQs

★★★★★ “A sheer delight from start to finish.” – Irish Examiner

“Charming…heartwarming” – Chicago Reader

Irish Repertory Theatre wishes to thank Screen Ireland, RTÉ, Dublin Aerospace, and the Howard Gilman Foundation.

A Performance on Screen

By Elaine Murphy
Directed by Marc Atkinson Borrull

Starring Brenda Meaney, Lauren O’Leary, and Marsha Mason

“a warm slice-of-life tale” – The New York Times

★★★★ “Murphy weaves everyday stories together with deceptive skill.” – Financial Times

Amber, Lorraine, and Kay, three generations of North Dublin women, find themselves suddenly facing the unexpected in this “warm slice-of-life tale.” (The New York Times). Young Amber’s case of indigestion grows into something more, while her mother Lorraine reluctantly attempts therapist-suggested self-care, and Grandmother Kay struggles with a personal itch while adjusting to life as a caretaker for her beloved Gem. In this hilarious and poignant award-winning work, three women find strength in one another and discover the beauty and complexity of family.

Irish playwright Elaine Murphy’s debut play, Little Gem, premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2008 where it won the Fishamble New Writing Award. It then transferred to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it won the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award, the festival’s top prize. 

This new digital production was filmed remotely at the actors’ homes in Connecticut, London, and New York. It is an adaptation of Irish Rep’s acclaimed 2019 production.

Reservations are free but required to access this digital event. A donation of $25 is suggested for those who can afford to give.

Read the performance program here! 

Press from our 2019 production:

“an altogether winning revival…the writing is wonderful full of incident, comedy, drama and emotion” – The New Yorker

★★★★ “Murphy weaves everyday stories together with deceptive skill.” – Financial Times

“a solid new production… human dramas… rendered delicately, empathetically, and perceptively.” – Theatermania 

SPECIAL THANKS:

Irish Repertory Theatre wishes to thank Henry Clarke, Olivia Marcus, and Melanie Spath, as well as the Howard Gilman Foundation.

Little Gem: A Performance on Screen is produced under the SAG-AFTRA New Media Contract.