Powerhouse Cast Tapped for Shaw Festival's DANCING AT LUGHNASA

Krista Jackson, former Shaw Festival intern director and Zone 41 Theatre's artistic director, returns to direct Brian Friel's award-winning masterpiece Dancing at Lughnasa. Beginning previews on May 14 at the Royal George Theatre, this production features a quintet of fiercely talented Shaw Festival ensemble members - Fiona Byrne, Diana Donnelly, Claire Jullien, Sarena Parmar (in her Festival debut) and Tara Rosling - as the formidable Mundy sisters.

Dancing at Lughnasa's isolated and unforgiving County Donegal landscape is evoked by Sue LePage's set design and muted colour palette, while her faded naturalistic costumes denote the passage of time. Louise Guinand's lighting design and John Gzowski's music and sound design echo the remoteness and desolation of this rural Irish countryside.

Told from the viewpoint of young Michael, the five Mundy sisters eke out an existence in the small village of Ballybeg, in 1930s Ireland - a land where no tears are without laughter, and no laughter is without tears. Each woman is filled with passionate longing, kept still and contained, until the spirit of the dance calls and grants them unfettered release.

Dancing at Lughnasa is on stage at the Royal George Theatre (85 Queen Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake) from May 14 to October 15 (opening June 23).

Cast: (in alphabetical order)

Kristopher Bowman
Fiona Byrne
Diana Donnelly
Patrick Galligan
Claire Jullien
Peter Millard
Sarena Parmar
Tara Rosling Gerry
Kate
Rose
Michael
Agnes
Father Jack
Christina
Maggie

Creative & Production:

Krista Jackson
Sue LePage
Louise Guinand
John Gzowski
Meredith Macdonald
Ivory Neal
Director
Designer
Lighting Designer
Composer / Sound Designer
Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager

The Shaw Festival's 2017 season is on stage April 5 through October 15. The playbill features Me and My Girl, Saint Joan, Dracula, 1837: The Farmers' Revolt, Androcles and the Lion, Wilde Tales, The Madness of George III, Dancing at Lughnasa, An Octoroon, Middletown, 1979 and Secret Theatre.

Direct bus service from Toronto to Niagara-on-the-Lake on the Shaw Express began April 5. Patrons can choose to come for one day or stay for the weekend with a round trip costing $25. A ticket to a 2017 Shaw Festival performance is required to access this service.

Tickets for the 2017 Festival season and Shaw Express are available through the Box Office at 1-800-511-SHAW and online at www.shawfest.com.

The Shaw Festival celebrates the life and spirit of Bernard Shaw by creating theatre that is as entertaining and provocative as Shaw himself.