Irish Repertory Theatre Unveils Spring and Summer Programming - THE LOVED ONES and More

Irish Repertory Theatre has revealed two productions and an Irish-language reading for their 2026 Spring / Summer Season.

Irish Rep will present the New York City Premiere of The Loved Ones, by Erica Murray (The Cat’s Mother) and directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey (Irishtown). The Loved Ones will begin previews June 13, 2026, with an opening night set for June 23, for a limited run through August 2, 2026, on Irish Rep’s Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage (132 West 22nd Street).

The 2026 Spring / Summer Season will also include the US Stage Premiere of The Approach by Mark O’Rowe (From Both Hips). Directed by Conor Bagley (The Smuggler), previews begin April 3, 2026, with an opening night set for April 12, for a limited run through May 10, 2026, in Irish Rep’s W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre.

Additionally, Irish Rep will hold an Irish-language reading of Tagann Godot / Godot Turns Up, a play inspired by Beckett's Waiting for Godot, by Irish novelist and dramatist Alan Titley and directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey and Caoimhe Nic Giollarnáith. The reading will take place on Thursday March 26, 2026, at 7pm on Irish Rep’s Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage.

The New York City Premiere of

THE LOVED ONES

On the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage

By Erica Murray

Directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey

Previews Begin June 13

Opening Night set for June 23

Limited Run through August 2

In a remote farmhouse in West Clare, Nell is preparing to scatter her late son’s ashes with his grieving wife. Meanwhile, an American tourist settles in for what she expects to be a peaceful countryside retreat. But when a young woman arrives at the cottage unexpectedly, the weekend takes a surprising and darkly comic turn. As tensions rise and secrets are revealed, these four strangers are forced into an uneasy reckoning with the past–and each other.

Erica Murray’s The Loved Ones is a sharp, deeply moving, and wickedly funny new Irish play about motherhood, grief, and the families we find when life doesn’t go to plan.

The Loved Ones will feature set design by Tatiana Kahvegian (Meet the Cartozians), costume design by Orla Long (Irishtown), lighting design by Kat C. Zhou (Ichabod: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), sound design by Caroline Eng (Irishtown), and dialect coaching by Barbara Rubin (Holy Day). Bailey Bass (The Smuggler) is the Associate Director. Mary Garrigan (Making a Show of Myself) is the Production Stage Manager, Mikki Monfalcone (Romeo & Juliet) is the Assistant Stage Manager, and casting is by Katja Zarolinski (KZ Casting).

Full casting for The Loved Ones will be announced at a later date. The performance schedule for The Loved Ones is as follows: Wednesdays at 2pm & 7pm; Thursdays at 7pm; Fridays at 7pm; Saturdays at 2pm & 7pm; Sundays at 3pm. Exceptions: there will be added performances on Tuesday June 16 and Tuesday June 30 at 7pm. There will be no performances on Saturday July 4.

Tickets to The Loved Ones begin at $55 will go on sale for Irish Rep members on Tuesday March 31. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Tuesday April 7. $25 tickets will be available to patrons under 40 years of age via Irish Rep’s GreenSeats membership.

The US Stage Premiere of

THE APPROACH

In the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

By Mark O’Rowe

Directed by Conor Bagley

Previews Begin April 3

Opening Night Set for April 12

Limited Run through May 10

Listen carefully…

Three women.

Three conversations.

As the details of what they share begin to diverge, we realise that a subtle game of survival is being played.

Both psychological puzzle and quietly devastating tragedy, Mark O'Rowe's The Approach explores the inner lives of Anna, Cora, and Denise as they desperately try to make sense of their world.

Irish Repertory Theatre is thrilled to present the U.S. Stage Premiere of The Approach. It premiered at the Project Arts Centre, Dublin, in 2018, in a production by Landmark Productions.

The cast of The Approach will feature Carmen M. Herlihy (The Apiary) as Cora, Kate MacCluggage (Left on Tenth) as Denise, and Danielle Ryan (Aristocrats) as Anna.

The Approach will feature set design by Daniel Prosky (An Ideal Husband), costume design by Stephanie Bahniuk (Kokum’s Babushka), and lighting design by Emma Deane (Can’t Drink Salt Water). Dialect Coaching is by Karen Killeen. Michael Palmer (Irishtown) is the Production Stage Manager and casting is by Geoff Josselson, CSA.

The performance schedule for The Approach is as follows: Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesdays at 2pm & 7pm; Thursdays at 7pm; Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 2pm & 7pm; Sundays at 3pm.

Tickets to The Approach begin at $55 will go on sale for Irish Rep members on Tuesday March 3. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Thursday March 5. $25 tickets will be available to patrons under 40 years of age via Irish Rep’s GreenSeats membership.

TAGANN GODOT | GODOT TURNS UP

On the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage

By Alan Titley

Directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey and Caoimhe Nic Giollarnáith

Thursday March 26 at 7pm

Waiting for Godot is one of the most famous plays written in the twentieth century. In Tagann Godot / Godot Turns Up, we finally meet Godot, the character for whom Beckett's Estragon and Vladimir were waiting. Tagann Godot contains humor and satire, with difficult questions being asked and answered. At long last, we find out what solutions he has, or has not, to all of our problems. The long wait is over!

Godot Turns Up was first performed in The Abbey Theatre, Dublin on the Peacock Stage in February 1990. It won the Oireachtas award in 1987. A radio version, produced by Seán Ó Briain on RTÉ, won the Pater Prize for International plays.

This presentation of Tagann Godot is intended for Irish speakers of any level, with a side-by-side translation provided and the house lights remaining up.