Written by Erica Murray
Directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey
on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage
As part of the New Works Fall Festival
Featuring Readings of New Plays, Spotlighting New Irish Writing
Monday, November 3 at 7PM
In a remote farmhouse in West Clare, Nell is preparing to scatter her late son’s ashes with his grieving wife. Meanwhile, an American tourist settles in for what she expects to be a peaceful countryside retreat.But when a young woman arrives at the cottage unexpectedly, the weekend takes a surprising and darkly comic turn. As tensions rise and secrets are revealed, these four strangers are forced into an uneasy reckoning with the past – and each other.
Hailed by The Irish Times as “wonderful, witty, assured and entertaining” and praised by The Irish Independent as “a glorious personality clash extravaganza”, Erica Murray’s The Loved Ones is a sharp, deeply moving, and wickedly funny new Irish play about motherhood, grief, and the families we find when life doesn’t go to plan.
Reviews:
“Murray’s characters are irresistible.” — The Arts Review
“Murray’s crisply structured dialogue.” — Financial Times
“[Murray’s] writing is perfectly accomplished.” — Irish Examiner
“[A] glorious personality clash extravaganza.” — Irish Independent
“Complex, uncomfortable stories brought to life in a refreshing, deceptively simple way.” — The Irish Times
“It is a play that deals with loss with a tender touch and much humour.” — No More Workhorse
Irish Repertory Theatre’s New Play Development Program 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 ethnicities, genders, abilities, and orientations. The New Works Festival returns this November with four new play readings spotlighting voices writing new work that fulfills this mission. This program enables us to hear new work aloud with an audience and discover new plays and musicals for possible future production.