Irish Repertory Theatre

Irish Drama.
New York Style.

US Premiere

The Scourge

Irish Repertory Theatre,
in association with Wexford Arts Centre
Presents the U.S. Premiere

in the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

By Michelle Dooley Mahon
Directed by Ben Barnes

Starring Michelle Dooley Mahon

January 22  – February 2, 2020

“Compelling Narrative… Mahon’s lyrical monologue is delivered in a rapid-fire style… deftly directed by Ben Barnes…this astutely observed piece is well worth a look especially if hope is what’s needed” – Sunday Times

“Death by a thousand cuts” – that’s how Michelle Dooley Mahon describes Alzheimer’s disease after witnessing it strike down her mother Siobhán. As Mahon relives that time, her humorous and moving memories and rapier-like observations introduce personalities, history, and a nostalgic archive of an ordinary Irish small-town family forced to become extraordinary in their attempt to cope.

The Scourge takes audiences on a journey like no other, a beautiful dedication of a daughter giving voice to a mother sadly silenced before her time.

BUY TICKETS

This is the U.S. premiere of Michelle Dooley Mahon’s The Scourge, adapted from Mahon’s critically-acclaimed autobiographical novel Scourged and directed by Ben Barnes, former Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre. Wexford Arts Centre presented the world premiere of The Scourge in April 2018 in the Wexford Opera Fringe Festival followed by a national tour in 2019 as part of the First Fortnight European Mental Health Art and Cultural Festival.  The Scourge is an official selection of the 2020 Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival.

The Scourge is produced in association with Wexford Arts Centre as part of Origin’s 1st Irish New York’s festival of Irish Theatre. For Festival Info visit www.origintheatre.org

“beautifully written and deeply personal… The 85-minute piece is filled with rich imagery and luscious turns of Irish phrase” – Theatermania

“A deeply moving testament to the power of emotional resilience, The Scourge is a captivating tribute to the human spirit, and Mahon is an international treasure.” – Talkin’ Broadway

“A big plus of this 85-minute work at the Irish Repertory Theater is the balance of light and dark. Another key asset is Mahon’s down-to-earth likability. The story is the star, and Mahon has a gift for painting evocative pictures with words” – Theater News Online

‘Raw, witty and poetic, Michelle Dooley Mahon’s ‘The Scourge’ had a huge impact.” – Wexford People/Independent.ie
“Scourged is that most rare and wonderful creature, a book that is both entertaining and honest – like David Sedaris or Joan Didion before her, Dooley Mahon delves deep into the seam of the everyday, mining the ores of tragedy and comedy, shining a single headlamp as she digs, until the unsuspecting reader, laughed and cried out, is forced to go for a lie down” – Eoin Colfer (Author, New York Times Best Selling Artemis Fowl Series)

Sponsors:

 

Defender of the Faith

by Stuart Carolan
directed by Ciarán O’Reilly

March 1- April 22, 2007

An intense seething thriller set in 1980s Northern Ireland. Five years after the celebrated 1981 hunger strikes and in the midst of the paranoia surrounding informers in the Irish Republican movement, a family faces a turning point.  Some “operations” have been compromised and a beloved farm hand is suspected of being an informer.  An IRA investigator is brought in to sniff out the traitor, and his ominous presence begin to gnaw away at the edges of familial loyalty.  Don’t miss the American Premiere of this heart-stopping, chilling theatrical experience.

Defender of the Faith contains mature language and subject matter and is not intended for young audiences.

Oh, it’s a nasty piece of work alright with  VISCERAL ACTING and a FINE CAST’ -The New York Times

“Masterful performances…filled with wonderful moments” -Backstage

A sinister thriller that suggests OBVIOUS TALENT. The opening scenes build CRACKERJACK SUSPENSE.” -Variety

Eden

by Eugene O’Brien
directed by John Tillinger

January 20- March 21, 2004

  • Drama League Nom., “Best Actress in a Play” – Catherine Byrne

As Breda plans a night out, with her husband Billy , she has no clue that he has other plans… involving another woman. Directed by three time Tony nominated director John Tillinger, this hilarious and heartbreaking portrait of good times gone bad, won the Irish Times Award for Best New Play.

“fine performances by Ciaran O’Reilly as Billy and, especially, Catherine Byrne as Breda, both accomplished actors who, under John Tillinger’s skilled direction, make their characters seem much nicer and more sympathetic than they really are.” -New York Times

Creative Team:
Set & Costume Design: Klara Zieglerove
Lighting Design: Howell Binkley
Stage Manager: Colette Morris
Asst. Stage Manager: Andrea Sarubbi

 

Foley

foleyby Michael West
directed by Annie Ryan

with Andrew Bennett
live music composed & performed by Vincent Doherty

March 11 – April 19, 2003

Critically acclaimed during sold-out engagements in Ireland and the UK, Foley now makes it’s American premiere.

Andrew Bennett stars as George Foley, the last in a long line of land-owning Protestants at the “end point of all the evolution and fruitcake.” Having shunned his parents, their big country house and his Protestant faith, Foley now must work out where he belongs. Foley is a hilarious and moving exploration of what it is your family really passes on to you.

“One of the best and most original pieces of new Irish dramatic writing to emerge in several years~” –The Sunday Tribune

 

bedbound

bedboundWritten & directed by Enda Walsh

January 17 – March 2, 2003

On our mainstage, Tony Award nominee Brian F. O’Byrne stars in the American premier of Enda Walsh’s bedbound. A sensation in Dublin and London, this electrifying new drama details the strange, twisted and tragic relationship between a father and his afflicted daughter. As father resorts to increasingly desperate measure to become a powerful salesman in Cork, daughter retreats further into the fantasy worlds of language and literature. Together they take a heartbreaking journey of forgiveness through and eccentric world of their own creation.

“Masterful” -Curtain Up

Creative Team:
Set: Klara Zieglerova
Lighting: Kirk Bookman
Sound: Zach Williamson
Hair: Robert-Charles Vallance
Stage manager Kelly Hance

The Matchmaker

matchmakerby John B. Keane
directed by Michael Scott

February 5 – March 31, 2002

Tony Award-winner Anna Manahan and Des Keogh bring this delightful satire to Irish Rep direct form sold-out enegaements in Ireland and the United Kingdon.

The Matchmaker follows the antics of Dicy Mick Dicky O’Connor who sets out to hitch the unmarriagable of Ireland to the unlikely.  Manahan and Keogh are “a perfect match” bringing life to the letters Dicky exchanges with the lovelorn townfolk in the comic tour-de-force by one of Irelan’s best-loved playwrights.

“A mischievous romp with two of Ireland’s top actors!” –The London Times

“An old-fashioned pleasure!” –The Sunday Times

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