in the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre
By Abbie Spallen
Directed by Nicola Murphy
Starring Hamish Allan-Headley, Labhaoise Magee and Clare O’Malley
CRITIC’S PICK! “exquisite… achingly raw” – The New York Times
In a gas station in Northern Ireland, barely north of the border, Pumpgirl gets few customers beyond lecherous men and cruel women who remark on her tomboyish appearance. Otherwise guarded, she has struck up a friendship with “no helmet Hammy” – an amateur stock-car racer who prefers to spend time with his unsavory buddies over his wife and children. As Hammy’s wife, Sinead, stays home alone, she simmers with rage over her isolated, disappointing existence. On Hammy’s birthday, their lives become perilously intertwined, leaving them face-to-face with a desperate future.
Irish Repertory Theatre is proud to present this heartwrenching original story of rural life in Northern Ireland by Abbie Spallen, a multi-award winning Irish playwright making her Irish Rep debut. Originally presented by the Bush Theatre, Pumpgirl premiered in 2006 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and made its New York debut at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2007. It won the 2007 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Stewart Parker Trust Award, and was nominated for the Irish Times Best New Play.
Please note: this production contains themes of physical and sexual violence.
CRITIC’S PICK! “exquisite… achingly raw” – Jose Solís, The New York Times
PUMPGIRL is “humbly poetic… with three outstanding performances supporting its rich, expressive language” – Hayley Levitt, Theatermania
“harrowing, brilliant and brutal… a first-rate theatrical experience that is at once disturbing and relentless.” – Lisa del Rosso, One Magazine
“eye-popping, ear-singeing… Strap the Must-See banner on this one.” – David Finkle, New York Stage Review
“The rewards are many… Pumpgirl is the work of a writer we should know better.” – David Barbour, Lighting and Sound America
“a fine display of acting talent and incisive storytelling” – Michael Dale, BroadwayWorld
“a beautifully subtle revival” – Joseph Pisano, Theaterscene.net
From Previous Productions:
“a fiercely observed, unflinching play” – The New York Times
“Spallen’s words…curl around each other like acrid diesel fumes creating their own jagged narrative… a piece of sparky and intricately observed writing” – The Guardian