Autumn Productions Announced At The Abbey Theatre

Ireland owes a great debt to Edna O'Brien and Tom Murphy. These two exceptional Irish writers have led the way in bringing the untold, unexamined stories of Ireland to the world, with a vital influence on the generation that followed. Two extraordinary new productions of their work will be seen at the Abbey Theatre this Autumn, as part of Dublin Theatre Festival.

A new production of Tom Murphy's powerful masterpiece A Whistle in the Dark will bring an explosive tension to the Peacock stage, bringing this "clenched fist of a play" (Financial Times) to a new audience. Upstairs on the Abbey stage, the world premiere of Joyce's Women by Edna O'Brien is set to enthral, with a new insight into the world of James Joyce, through the lives of the women who were central to his life and his work.

"The great privilege of being at the helm of our national theatre is having the opportunity to engage with, and programme exemplary Irish writers, like Tom Murphy and Edna O'Brien, said Caitríona McLaughlin, Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre. "A Whistle in the Dark is a taut, explosive pressure cooker of a play and I want audiences to experience that intensity intimately. Edna O'Brien's latest work Joyce's Women is a dream play. It examines the triumvirate of women, his mother May, wife Nora and daughter Lucia, who influenced James Joyce, his life and work. Bringing this brand-new play by Edna before an audience is thrilling. We at the Abbey cannot wait for audiences to experience these radically different pieces."

A co-production between the Abbey Theatre and Eilene Davidson Productions

Joyce's Women

By Edna O'Brien
Directed by Conall Morrison
"James Joyce had been my ultimate hero for sixty years, but to paint the canvas of his life was daunting. Therefore, I decided to depict him as seen by the key figures in his life - Mother, Wife, Mistress of a fleeting moment, his patron Harriet Weaver and his beloved Daughter Lucia, of whom he said her mind was but a transparent leaf away from his."

- Edna O'Brien

One of Ireland's greatest contemporary writers turns her attention to the life of one of the country's greatest novelists, in a powerful new play Joyce's Women. Written for the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Ulysses, this world premiere from Edna O'Brien gives voice to the women who were central to the life of James Joyce.

On the Abbey stage as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival, this audacious world premiere will be directed by Conall Morrison.

An Abbey Theatre production
A Whistle in the Dark

By Tom Murphy
Directed by Jason Byrne

One of Ireland's most important playwrights, Tom Murphy's A Whistle in the Dark is a powerful portrayal of tribal violence and the devastation it brings in its wake. It remains one of Murphy's best known and most performed plays. Famously rejected by the Abbey Theatre in the 1950s, it has long since become a central play in the Irish theatre canon.

Directed by Jason Byrne with Seán Mc Ginley in the pivotal patriarchal role of Dada, this fiercely intense production of Tom Murphy's early masterpiece will be experienced up close on the intimate Peacock stage, giving the audience a front row seat for the display of toxic masculinity in the Carney's living room. The cast also includes Peter Coonan, Brian Gleeson, Ruairí Heading, Sarah Morris with more to be announced.

This is the first production of Murphy's work at the Abbey since his passing in 2018 at the age of 83, and this production will pay tribute to his legacy of "soaring imagination, ferocious honesty, great artistic ambition and unshakeable integrity" (Fintan O'Toole, The Irish Times) at every performance.

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