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.
