Steep Theatre to Stage THE LIFE AND SORT OF DEATH OF ERIC ARGYLE Next Month

Steep Theatre will present the Midwest Premiere of Irish playwright Ross Dungan's The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle. Steep Artistic Associate and Jeff Award-winning director Jonathan Berry returns to Steep to direct Dungan's heart-warming and magical exploration of lives lived without regret. Steep and Berry have racked up an impressive string of Midwest premieres, including last year's If There is I Haven't Found It Yet and past hits The Knowledge, Moment and Festen. The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle opens at Steep Theatre on Thursday, January 22.

In 2012, Steep and Berry made big waves with their runaway hit premiere of Deirdre Kinahan's Moment ­ the most recent Irish import to grace Steep's stage. The production ran for 9 sold-out weeks at Steep's Edgewater theater, before transferring to the larger Theater Wit for 5 additional weeks of near capacity crowds. Moment was nominated for Jeff Awards for Best Direction and Best Ensemble. Berry's production of Eric Argyle continues Steep's tradition of electrifying ensemble work with an impressive assemblage of 12 actors who come together to tell a story that transcends time and illuminates the connections between us all.

The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle premiered in Ireland in 2012, produced by 15th Oak. The production enjoyed enormously successful runs at both the Dublin and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, before transferring to London's Soho Theatre and New York's 59E59. Eric Argyle was nominated for Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards in 2013 as well as the Stewart Parker Trust Award. Mr. Dungan won a prestigious Fringe First award for his first play Minute After Midday. He is one-third of the hugely successful Irish sketch-comedy group A Betrayal of Penguins and currently writes for RTE's Fair City and Roy, as well as for a number of projects for Tilted Pictures.

Jonathan Berry is an Artistic Associate at Steep Theatre, where his productions include If There is I Haven't Found it Yet, The Knowledge, Festen, Moment, The Hollow Lands and Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. His Steppenwolf productions include the SYA production of A Separate Peace, and the world premiere of Melinda Lopez's Gary; his Goodman productions include The Solid Sand Below and The World of Extreme Happiness. Mr. Berry most recently directed The Mousetrap at Northlight Theatre. He is also an Artistic Associate at Griffin Theatre, where his work includes Odets' Golden Boy, The Burnt Part Boys, Spring Awakening, and the North American premieres of Simon Stephens' Punk Rock (which garnered Jeff Awards for Director, Lead Actor, and Ensemble), Port, and On the Shore of the Wide World. He has also worked with Chicago Dramatists, Lifeline Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Theatre Mir, Red Twist, and The Gift Theatre, where his credits include the world premieres of Andrew Hinderaker's Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated, which he subsequently directed at New York's Roundabout Theatre.

Steep Theatre has become known as a home for hard-hitting, finely tuned ensemble work. With each production, the company has shepherded a growing community of audiences and artists into bold new territories of story and performance. Over the years, Steep productions have been named in TimeOut Chicago's Top Ten Shows of the Year list five times, the Tribune's Top Ten List twice, the Tribune's Best of the Fringe list twice, the Sun Times' best of the year list twice, and WBEZ's Top Ten Shows of the Decade. Steep has received 21 Jeff Nominations and has won the 2009 Jeff Award for Best Ensemble, the 2010 Jeff Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the 2011 Jeff Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Steep was named the 2010 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award Winner.

The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8pm from January 22 through February 28. Sunday matinee performances are scheduled for February 1, 8, 15, and 22 at 3pm. Tickets range from $10 to $35. Reservations can be made by calling (866) 811-4111 or by visiting www.steeptheatre.com. Steep Theatre is conveniently located by the Berwyn Red Line stop and is within blocks of the #92, #36, #146, #147, and #151 buses.

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