Sam Shepard's A PARTICLE OF DREAD (OEDIPUS VARIATIONS) Begins Tonight Off-Broadway

The U.S. Premiere of A PARTICLE OF DREAD (OEDIPUS VARIATIONS) by Sam Shepard, directed by Nancy Meckler, will play through Sunday, January 4, 2015. A PARTICLE OF DREAD (OEDIPUS VARIATIONS) begins performances tonight, November 11 and opens Sunday, November 23 in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).

Signature and Ireland's renowned Field Day Theatre Company are thrilled to present the U.S. premiere of 1996-97 Playwright-in-Residence Sam Shepard's A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations). This dark, fragmented, modern-day take on Oedipus Rex premiered in Derry, Ireland, and features a cast of actors from both sides of the Atlantic.

The cast includes Tony Award winner Brid Brennan (Dancing at Lughnasa) as Jocasta / Jocelyn, Lloyd Hutchinson (Anonymous) as Uncle Del / Traveler / Tiresias / Maniac of the Outskirts, Jason Kolotouros (Her Majesty the King at the HERE Arts Center) as Harrington, Matthew Rauch (The Wolf of Wall Street) as Randolph, Academy Award nominee Stephen Rea (The Crying Game) as Oedipus / Otto, Aidan Redmond (The Cripple of Inishmaan) as Laius / Larry / Langos, Judith Roddy ("The Fall") as Antigone / Annalee.

Brid Brennan, Lloyd Hutchinson, Stephen Rea, and Judith Roddy are appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association. Signature Theatre gratefully acknowledges Actors' Equity Association for its assistance of this production.

The design team includes Frank Conway (Scenic Design), Lorna Marie Mugan (Costume Design), Michael Chybowski (Lighting Design), Jill BC Du Boff (Sound Design), Neil Martin (Composer), Kate Wilson (Dialect Coach). Amanda Michaels is the Production Stage Manager. Casting by Telsey + Company, William Cantler, CSA and Karyn Casl, CSA

Supplemental programming has been set for A PARTICLE OF DREAD (OEDIPUS VARIATIONS). There will be post-show talkbacks on November 18 and 25, December 9 and 16. There will also be two joint Backstage Pass events for A PARTICLE OF DREAD (OEDIPUS VARIATIONS) and Katori Hall's OUR LADY OF KIBEHO, which begins performances at Signature on October 28, 2014. Focus: On Music will feature Michael McElroy (Original Music and Music Direction for Our Lady of Kibeho) and Neil Martin (Composer and Cellist for A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations)) discussing composing and arranging music for new plays on December 3 at 6pm. Focus: On Dialects will feature Dialect Coaches Dawn-Elin Fraser (Our Lady of Kibeho) and Kate Wilson (A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations)) discussing their roles in the rehearsal process on December 10 at 6pm.

To purchase tickets for all Signature productions, call Ticket Services at 212-244-7529 (Tues. - Sun., 11am - 6pm) or visit signaturetheatre.org.

Actor/director Stephen Rea and playwright Brian Friel founded Field Day in Derry in 1980. Friel's critically acclaimed Translations was the first of fourteen Field Day plays to premiere at the Guildhall before travelling throughout Ireland and the world; other productions included Friel's The Communication Cord (1982) and Making History (1988), Derek Mahon's High Time (1984), Tom Paulin's The Riot Act (1984), Thomas Kilroy's Double Cross (1986), Stewart Parker's Pentecost (1987), Terry Eagleton's Saint Oscar (1989) and Seamus Heaney's The Cure at Troy (1990). From the outset, Field Day also aimed to become a publishing company and early publications included the Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing and the Field Day Pamphlets series. Since 2004, Field Day has been publishing award winning Irish Studies books of the highest academic and print standard in collaboration with the Keough-Naughton Institute of Irish Studies in Dublin.