Irish Rep's Reading Series to Open 10th Season with THE PIGEON IN THE TAJ MAHAL

The Irish Repertory Theatre (Charlotte Moore, Artistic Director; Ciarán O'Reilly, Producing Director) proudly begins the 10th season of its Reading Series with Laoisa Sexton's THE PIGEON IN THE TAJ MAHAL, directed by the Irish Rep's Literary Manager, Kara Manning. The staged reading will take place on Friday, October 2 at 3pm at the DR2 Theater, 103 East 15th Street (the Irish Repertory Theatre's temporary home during current renovations). The reading is FREE and open to the public. An RSVP to the Irish Repertory Theatre Box Office at (212) 727-2737 is strongly suggested.

The Irish Repertory Theatre encourages the development of works focusing on the Irish and Irish American experience, and produces works of other cultures interpreted through the lens of an Irish sensibility. Kara Manning, Literary Manager, hopes that the reading series will "give playwrights, both emerging and more established, the invaluable opportunity to develop their new work in a supportive, safe environment and will also introduce some Irish playwrights, especially those who might not yet have the New York recognition they merit, to an American audience." Plays that have been developed through the Reading Series that have gone on to productions at the Irish Rep include last season's accaimed The Belle of Belfast by Nate Rufus Edelman, and the upcoming The Quare Land by John McManus.

THE PIGEON IN THE TAJ MAHAL is a dark comedy about trying to get home. Somewhere in the rural West of Ireland, in a remote in-between place in the middle of nowhere, a mentally impaired outsider is banished to live on an abandoned dilapidated campsite. Cut off from his community and the modern world, he lives a solitary existence until one night, he finds an injured bride-to-be from the mean streets of Limerick, who has been separated from her bachelorette party. It's clear these two must find a way to communicate, so they can help each other find the way home.

THE PIGEON IN THE TAJ MAHAL will be read by Sean Gormley (The Weir, Da), John Keating (The Weir, The New York Idea), Jo Kinsella (For Love, House Strictly Private), Donall O' Healai (Moll, Focal Point), and Laoisa Sexton (For Love, Oh The Power).

Laoisa Sexton (Playwright) is an actress/writer originally from Co. Clare, Ireland. Her debut play, For Love, was produced by the Irish Repertory Theatre in 2013. It garnered critical acclaim across the board and received a Critics' Pick from the New York Times and The Times (UK) said it "reflects a form of female emancipation and is pro-active in the liberation of the theatre." The play was invited to the City of Culture Festival in 2013, and went on to a successful tour of Ireland incorporating Derry, Belfast, Waterford, two venues in Dublin and Galway. Laoisa has since adapted the play into a TV series and is currently working with veteran film producer Paul Heller (Withnail & I, In the Name of the Father) for a production for Dublin. Her second play The Last Days of Cleopatra premiered in 2014 in New York, it received critical acclaim, along with a Critics' Pick from the New York Times. The play will be produced in Canada and Dublin in 2016. She has also written the screenplay for the feature film of The Pigeon in The Taj Mahal and is currently looking for funding to shoot in Ireland. Laoisa also has another new play called Ave Maria, Blessed Art Thou Amongst Women which she hopes to debut next year.??As an actress, Laoisa has performed all over Ireland, the UK, Scotland and the US, some highlights include Long Days Journey into Night at The Guthrie directed by Joe Dowling, Oh The Power directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman for LABryinth, The Prophet of Monto (Winner of Best Actress Award for 1st Irish Theatre Festival), Gaslight directed by Charlotte Moore for Irish Rep, and the Award-winning Ladies & Gents, a site-specific show that was performed in the public toilets in Central Park for Irish Arts Center & Semper Fi. She has performed in over 19 independent films in the US and on TV in Ireland.

Founded by Ciarán O'Reilly and Charlotte Moore, The Irish Repertory Theatre opened its doors in September 1988 with Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars. The Irish Rep is currently the only year-round theatre company in New York City devoted to bringing Irish and Irish American works to the stage. Recognized with the Jujamcyn Theatres Award, a special Drama Desk Award for "Excellence in Presenting Distinguished Irish Drama," and the Lucille Lortel Award for "Outstanding Body of Work," The Irish Rep has celebrated the very best in Irish theatre for over twenty years, from the masters to the new generation of Irish and Irish American writers who are transforming the stage. Nearly 38,000 audience members annually attend productions at our theatre located in the heart of New York's Off Broadway community. Once here, they witness The Irish Rep's engaging perspective on the Irish and their unique contributions to the world of drama.

The 2015-16 Irish Rep Reading Series is underwritten in part by members of the theatre's Patron's Circle.