Photos: Get a First Look at THE HAIRY APE at Irish Repertory Theatre

Irish Repertory Theatre is presenting Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape. Directed by Ciarán O'Reilly, The Hairy Ape began performances September 25, 2026, on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage with opening night set for October 4, for a run through November 15, 2026.

In 1922, Eugene O'Neill set the theatrical world on fire with his provocative and expressionist play, The Hairy Ape. This journey of a dark-souled, brutish ship laborer known as Yank is a riveting story of a common man's search for belonging in a world controlled by the rich and powerful.

As head coal stoker on an ocean liner, Yank is in his element: he rules his dark world-he powers the ship-he belongs. But when the beautiful, spoiled daughter of the ship's owner visits the engine room for a thrill, she is at once repulsed and terrified by Yank and what she sees there. Half in love with the unattainable and half blinded by rage, the bewildered Yank blunders violently through Manhattan, seeking both revenge and a place in a society which continually refuses him.

A landmark of American theater, The Hairy Ape remains a vibrant, eloquent, and deeply relevant work about finding yourself in a world of relentless constraints. Now, on the 20th Anniversary of Irish Repertory Theatre's acclaimed 2006 production, O'Neill's existentialist masterpiece returns to the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage under the direction of Ciarán O'Reilly.

Jon Beavers, Jonathan Crimeni, Nayib Felix, Joanna Glushak, Ariyan Kassam, John Keating, Hassiem Muhammad, Adam Petherbridge, Elizabeth Teeter, Harrison Tipping, Audrey Cardwell, and Richard Hollis.

Photo credit: Carol Rosegg