Delaware's REP Presents Sean O'Casey's Irish Classic JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK

Renowned Irish stage director Ben Barnes and the Resident Ensemble Players present Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock, a powerful and moving story about a mother's dream of a better life for her children during the tragedy of Ireland's civil war. Set in a Dublin tenement house full of captivating characters always ready with a song, a story, or an opinion, the production runs March 5 - 22 at the Roselle Center for the Arts.

Called a play with "a big heart and black comedy" by the New York Times, Juno Boyle and her peacock of a husband, "Captain" Jack, live a hand to mouth existence with their war-scarred son and trusting daughter. Jack and his sidekick Joxer spend their jovial days drinking and avoiding gainful employment while long-suffering Juno supports the family. Things look up when a visitor arrives, informing them of a tremendous family inheritance. But the luck of the Irish is strained when the realities of war and deception creep in.

"I think this play emerged very naturally out of the working class Dublin tenements that O'Casey new firsthand," states the production's dramaturg Kevin Kerrane. "This is also a play that has appealed to a number of other playwrights. One of O'Casey's biggest fans was Arthur Miller, in part because he too saw that great drama can be made out of very ordinary people's lives and their quiet heroism in the face of overwhelming challenge. Miller once said, 'That was the thing about O'Casey - his gift of laughter that left you in tears for the human race.'"

Juno and the Paycock opens on Saturday, March 7 and runs through Sunday, March 22.

Preview performances of the play are on Thursday and Friday, March 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $23- $29, with discounts for students and seniors.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.rep.udel.edu, by phone at (302) 831-2204, or in person at the Roselle Center for the Arts, 110 Orchard Rd., Newark, Monday through Friday from noon until 5:00 p.m.

Prologues - free preshow presentations - take place on Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 22, beginning at 1:15 p.m. in the Thompson Theatre. Kevin Kerrane, University of Delaware Professor of English and dramaturg for the production, will discuss Sean O'Casey and the play on March 14; REP actress Elizabeth Heflin will discuss her experience with the play on March 22.

Audience members have a chance to engage with the cast members at a talkback in the theatre following the performance on Thursday, March 12 and at an informal gathering in the lobby with snacks and a cash bar on Sunday, March 15.

The Roselle Center for the Arts is located at 110 Orchard Road, on the corner of Orchard Road and Kent Way, in Newark, Delaware. A convenient parking garage is attached to the Center.

A complete schedule, directions, and information on purchasing tickets can be found at the REP's website, www.rep.udel.edu or by calling the REP's box office at (302) 831-2204.

The REP's performances are sponsored in part by the Delaware Division of the Arts. Artist transportation is provided in part by Amtrak.

BEN BARNES, Director
Ben Barnes is a former artistic director of the Abbey Theatre, Ireland's national theatre, (2000-2005) and was the founding artistic director of Opera Theatre Company, Ireland's national touring opera company. He is currently Director of the Theatre Royal, Waterford. He is an award winning director on both sides of the Atlantic and his productions have been seen in cities around the world including Moscow, St Petersburg, New York, Chicago, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Paris, Sydney, Adelaide, Athens, Prague, Budapest, and Barcelona. He is the recipient of MECCA, Masque and Irish Times directing awards in Canada and Ireland and has directed extensively in North America where his productions included Translations, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Cherry Orchard, Endgame, A Month in the Country, a French language production of Dancing at Lughnasa and a bi-lingual Waiting for Godot in Montreal and The Plough and the Stars at the BITE International Festival in the Barbican, London. His productions of Uncle Vanya in a new translation by Brian Friel and Aristocrats also by Friel were seen at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York. He is a native of Wexford in the South East of Ireland where his family have been for generations and where he currently lives.

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