59E59 Presents 1st IRISH 2008 During Month of September

 59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) is proud to announce the line up for New York City's first Irish theater festival, 1st IRISH 2008. 1st IRISH 2008, featuring new eight New York City premieres by some of Ireland's top playwriting talents, begins on Saturday, September 6 and runs through Sunday, September 28.  Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison).  Ticket price varies.  Tickets to all shows at 59E59 Theaters are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com.  For more information, visit www.59E59.org

The  1st IRISH 2008 is the first festival celebrating Irish theater in New York City. Launching at 59E59 Theaters during the month of September, and produced by Origin Theatre Company, it features the New York premieres of three contemporary Irish plays as well as the world premiere of an evening of five short works. , 1st IRISH 2008 features the work of critically acclaimed Irish theater companies from New York, Boston and Washington, DC.

Saturday, September 6 - Sunday, September 28
END OF LINES, an evening of five short plays inspired by journeys on the NYC subway, written by Gary Duggan, Abbie Spallen, Ursula Rani Sarma, Pat Kinevane and Morna Regan. Directed by David
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Sullivan, Julia Gibson, Fiana Toibin and Alyse Rothman. Produced by Origin Theatre Company (NYC).

Critically acclaimed Origin Theatre Company challenged five of Ireland's leading young playwrights to find inspiration in NYC's underground. In five world-premiere short plays, audiences travel on a unique journey into the heart and soul of New York City-the subway system-creating an exhilarating evening of theater.

Tuesday, September 9 - Sunday, September 14
DISCO PIGS by Enda Walsh, directed by Dan Brick. Starring Madeline Carr and Rex Daugherty. Produced by Solas Nua (Washington, DC).

Pig and Runt are two 17-year-olds who have grown up sharing everything: birthday, language, and worldview.  But at that moment when pop songs and life-changing orgasms flash by and last forever, their friendship begins to implode on the road to adulthood.  DISCO PIGS marks the NY premiere of the Washington, DC-based Solas Nua, which Peter Marks of the Washington Post called, "the most vital new troupe in D.C." and was voted the Best New Company by the Washington City Paper in 2008.

Tuesday, September 16 - Sunday, September 21
MOJO MICKYBO, written by Owen McCafferty, directed by Stephen Russell.  Starring Colin Hamell and Derry Woodhouse.  Produced by Tir Na Theatre (Boston, MA).

A vibrant and faced-paced Tale of Two boys growing up in Belfast during the summer of 1970. Playing headers, torturing a cantankerous old man, building huts, spitting from cinema balconies and re-enacting Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, MOJO MICKYBO is a classic coming-of-age story about two boys whose innocence is ultimately betrayed by communal hatred.
Tuesday, September 23 - Sunday, September 28
LOVE, PEACE, AND ROBBERY by Liam Heylin, directed by Kerry Waters Lucas.  Starring Matthew Keenan, Eric Lucas and Bruce Rauscher. Produced by The Keegan Theatre (Washington, DC).

Uproarious and bittersweet, Heylin's play spins the escapades of Gary and Darren- both straight out of prison.  Living with a curfew and the broken pieces of their pasts, they confront life back on the streets of Cork.  Two guys who prove that there may actually be honor among thieves.