A PERFORMANCE ON SCREEN
“a lighthearted, entertaining evening of theatrical originality…Dermot Crowley and Dearbhla Molloy are unimpeachable” – Woman Around Town
In this special engagement, two of Ireland’s finest actors, Dearbhla Molloy and Dermot Crowley, take audiences on a virtual stroll through London’s National Gallery, discovering afresh the Museum’s masterpieces from Van Gogh and Van Eyck, to Rubens and Gainsborough. With humor and grace, Crowley and Molloy breathe fresh life into each painting’s subjects with poetic stories from renowned Irish poet Paul Durcan.
Irish Repertory Theatre presented the virtual reimagining of this beloved production as part of it’s Digital Fall Season in October of 2020. Give Me Your Hand premiered in London in 2010 and received its American Premiere in 2012 in Irish Rep’s W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre.
“Intimate, varied, and engaging… Durcan’s personal poetic interpretations are delivered with humor, heart, and humanity by Dearbhla Molloy and Dermot Crowley.” — DC Metro Arts
“Give Me Your Hand offers a soul-restoring reconnection with civilization, a combination of gorgeous visuals with the ideas of a highly original mind.” — Lighting & Sound America
PRESS FROM OUR 2012 PRODUCTION OF GIVE ME YOUR HAND:
“Mr. Crowley and Ms. Molloy are fine company. It’s all too easy to give them that requested hand.” — New York Times
CRITIC’S PICK! “Crowley is endearing and passionate… a most amusing evening.” — Backstage
“a lighthearted, entertaining evening of theatrical originality.” — WomanAroundTown
Special Thanks:
Irish Rep would also like to thank The National Gallery, London and The Coronet Theatre, London.
Give Me Your Hand is produced under the SAG -AFTRA New Media Agreement.
.
Paul Durcan appeared on Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison’s 1990 album, Enlightenment, on the track “In the Days Before Rock ‘N’ Roll.” Listen to Durcan’s spoken word on the track below!
Google has put together a virtual tour of multiple rooms, including the Central Hall, of London’s National Gallery. Take a virtual walk through this beautiful building and immerse yourself in some of these iconic paintings.
Paul Durcan visited the Toledo Museum of Art in 2016 to participate in the ‘Master Reading Series‘ with his book of poetry, Wild, Wild Erie. This book was inspired by works he selected from the Toledo Museum of Art’s world-class collection, marking his first collaboration with an American gallery.
Read reviews from our 2012 production of Give Me Your Hand in the W. Scott McLucas Theatre!
Before poet Paul Durcan wrote Give Me Your Hand describing paintings from the National Gallery in London, he wrote Crazy About Women, describing the paintings of the National Gallery of Ireland. If you like the poems of Paul Durcan, don’t miss this iconic early collection.
In this article from 2015, titled Paul Durcan: the most playful poet in Ireland, we get an insight into Paul Durcan as a poet, as he talks to an Irish Times journalist on some of his newest poetry.