Guna Nua Theatre Company Presents LITTLE GEM, Hits The Road For UK Tour

Guna Nua Theatre Company takes hit show 'Little Gem' on tour around Ireland and UK after Olympia success
"...as hilarious as it is poignant" - THE SUNDAY TIMES
"...intimately told and beautifully acted" - THE NEW YORK TIMES
" ***** ...a tiny treasure..." - TIME OUT, LONDON
"...impressive" - SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

Love, sex, birth, death and salsa classes: Little Gem sees three generations of Dublin women on a wild and constantly surprising journey.
Kay's got an itch that Gem can't scratch ... Lorraine attacks a customer at work and her boss wants her to see a psychiatrist ... Amber has fierce bad indigestion and the sambucas aren't getting rid of it. ... and then there's Gem , who doesn't like the neighbours coming in to ‘mind' him. If all that wasn't bad enough, Little Gem makes his presence felt and life is never the same again.

After sell-out seasons in New York, London and Paris and a sold-out 7-week run at Ireland's National Theatre and a run at the Olympia (with MCD), Gúna Nua and Civic Theatre are bringing their bittersweet comedy Little Gem on a countrywide tour, stopping off at Rsocommon Arts Centre on Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st September. More information and reservation at the box office 090 6625824.

Gúna Nua director and founder Paul Meade first read Elaine Murphy's Little Gem in 2008 and promptly staged and directed the impressive debut in the Dublin Fringe Festival where it won several awards and went on to great acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2009 winning the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award. Under the direction of Paul Meade, the cast interweave their characters' life experiences as they cope with modern life's daily pressures and the heart-breaking toll of inevitable tragedies, expertly blending slapstick humour and sharp comic timing with strength, courage and honesty.

Production History
'Litle Gem'premiered at the 2008 Dublin Fringe Festival and it was an immediate sell out success. It received the Dublin Fringe Festival/Fishamble Best New Play and Best Female Performance Awards (awarded to the entire Cast) and was subsequently nominated for Best Play and Best Actress (Anita Reeves) at the Irish Times Theatre Awards. Little Gem was subsequently awarded the BBC Northern Ireland Drama Award (Stewart Parker Trust Annual Awards). It premiered in the UK at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2009. The show sold out early in the run and was awarded the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award and received a second nomination for Anita Reeves as Best actress at the Stage Awards, Edinburgh. On returning to Dublin it won the Best Theatre Script awarded by the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild. The show premiered in the US at The Flea Theatre, New York on January 5th 2010 as part of the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award. The show then opened in the Peacock on January 19th and was sold out within two weeks. In March 2010, the show opened at the Bush Theatre in London where it ran for 7 weeks before touring to Paris and back to Ireland for a 2-week run at the Everyman Palace in Cork. After a recent run at The Olympia, the play now embarks on a tour of Ireland and the UK, including Roscommon Arts Centre on Monday 20th & Tuesday 21st September.

ABOUT GÚNA NUA
Gúna Nua was founded by Paul Meade and David Parnell in 1998.
Since 2008, the company has been led by artistic director Paul Meade and producer John O'Brien. The company is committed to developing, creating and delivering the best in innovative, contemporary and popular drama, nationally and internationally. Since 2008 it has worked with a variety of partners (Action Breast Cancer, Axis Ballymun, Create, Focus Ireland and Civic Theatre) to create a wide range of work and to increase its audience reach; it has produced and toured four new shows and performed in Edinburgh, London, Paris and New York to date.
In 2007 just under 5,000 people attended a Gúna Nua show. In 2008, that had doubled to 10,000. In 2009, it was over 15,000 and the booking patterns for 2010 suggest that it will be 60,000 plus.
Gúna Nua currently has a show on tour (Little Gem), two shows in pre-production, a project underway with Focus Ireland, another show under commission and it is developing an educational theatre project scheduled for national release in September 2010. The company is also negotiating a four-week tour of Little Gem in Australia.
Gúna Nua is funded by the Arts Council, Dublin City Council and Culture Ireland.

Edinburgh Spotlight Music Award winner Jack L announces Roscommon gig
After recently performing at this year's Edinburgh Festival to rave reviews, the people's favourite Jack L, returns to Roscommon Arts Centre on Friday 10th December for one performance only. With a voice to die for that makes the women swoon and the men sigh, a night at a Jack L gig will have you roaring for more. If you have never been to a JackL concert, you have without doubt missed one of the greatest shows with one of Ireland's most magnetic and talented performers. Tickets for what promises to be another epic night of music and song are already selling fast. Early booking is highly recommended by calling te box office on 090 6625824.

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