Deirdre Kinahan News

Over the last two years, the Abbey Theatre has welcomed close to 300,000 audience members to 97 productions and events, not only at the Abbey Theatre, but also in pubs, theatres and venues across Ireland and beyond.

-A small theater company moves into an abandoned Chicago storefront. Led by their adventurously thirsty artistic director, they embark on an explosive new play with the hope of finally breaking it big. When the ensemble realizes their source material might not be as original as once assumed, they are thrust into an intense confrontation with residents of their new community, who not only want them out, but will take their story back by any means necessary. Red Rex is the sixth play in Ike Holter's seven part 'Rightlynd Saga," which also includes Exit Strategy, Prowess, and The Wolf at the End of the Block.

As we approach the centenary of the Armistice of 1918, leading rural touring companies New Perspectives and Pentabus have joined forces for the first time to explore the legacies of conflict and the unexpected stories that emerge from war. Shifting between 1919 and 2019, this subversive piece of new writing by award-winning Irish playwright Deirdre Kinahan looks at solace across the century: those who have found refuge in the English countryside from more recent conflicts in Sarajevo, and those who turned to women's clothing to escape the bravado and brutality of military life in the WW1 trenches.

THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS PROJECT is an innovative and ambitious world premiere musical commissioned by Solas Nua. The production blends two fresh and significant dramatic voices, each with a unique perspective on the same time and themes. Staged on a pier jutting into the Anacostia River, the production gains added resonance in the shadow of Douglass' historic home at Cedar Hill and the bridge that bears his name. The site-specific staging heightens the drama and creates a memorable theater experience.

Solas Nua, the DC-based organization bringing Irish contemporary arts state-side, has gone back two hundred years to find inspiration for its upcoming production, The Frederick Douglass Project. Commissioned to commemorate Douglass' bicentennial, the production explores the abolitionist and human rights leader's 1845 visit to Ireland.

Irish Arts Center (IAC) has reached a critical milestone in its plans to build a new permanent home in New York for the evolving arts and culture of contemporary Ireland and Irish America. In the City on the eve of St. Patrick's Day, Ireland's Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, today announced $2.5 million in support for the New Irish Arts Center, bringing Irish government funding for the facility to $8.3 million and the Center's Almost Home capital campaign over the $60 million mark (to $60.5 million). The New Irish Arts Center comprises two buildings: a state-of-the-art new facility that will be constructed at 726 11th Avenue, and a renovation of the Center's intimate current home, adjoining the new building, at 553 West 51st Street. Phase I of construction, the new building on 11th Avenue, is now completely funded and ready to begin. IAC continues to raise an additional $15 million for the second phase of the project—transformation of the 51st Street venue—and to create a long-term programming fund and endowment, securing the future of the organization. 

The Old Vic today announces new performances in its Voices Off and One Voice series as well as Christmas Storytelling as part of its programme for families.

The Old Vic today announces new performances in its Voices Off and One Voice series as well as Christmas Storytelling as part of its programme for families.

Sticks and stones didn't break her bones, but words and pointing crushed her. Olivier Award winners Pat Kinevane and Fishamble: The New Play Company return to Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, the company that introduced Los Angeles audiences to the Irish writer/performer's extraordinary Forgotten and Silent, with his third solo work about life lived on the fringes of society. Jim Culleton, artistic director of Dublin's Fishamble and director of both Forgotten and Silent, directs the West Coast premiere of Underneath for a limited run Oct. 14 - Oct. 30. The engagement will also include two performances of Silent, which garnered the 2016 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement following its run at London's Soho Theatre.

Sticks and stones didn't break her bones, but words and pointing crushed her. Olivier Award winners Pat Kinevane and Fishamble: The New Play Company return to Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, the company that introduced Los Angeles audiences to the Irish writer/performer's extraordinary Forgotten and Silent, with his third solo work about life lived on the fringes of society. Jim Culleton, artistic director of Dublin's Fishamble and director of both Forgotten and Silent, directs the West Coast premiere of Underneath for a limited run Oct. 14 - Oct. 30. The engagement will also include two performances of Silent, which garnered the 2016 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement following its run at London's Soho Theatre.

Sticks and stones didn't break her bones, but words and pointing crushed her. Olivier Award winners Pat Kinevane and Fishamble: The New Play Company return to Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, the company that introduced Los Angeles audiences to the Irish writer/performer's extraordinary Forgotten and Silent, with his third solo work about life lived on the fringes of society. Jim Culleton, artistic director of Dublin's Fishamble and director of both Forgotten and Silent, directs the West Coast premiere of Underneath for a limited run Oct. 14 - Oct. 30. The engagement will also include two performances of Silent, which garnered the 2016 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement following its run at London's Soho Theatre.

This summer The Old Vic Community Company presents RISE. 200 Londoners will take over a brand new pop-up venue on Waterloo Millennium Green to present a kaleidoscope of ideas, discussions and stories that distil into a human, personal story exploring our relationship with the environment. RISE runs 10 to 21 August, and tickets are released on 22 June.

 Irish Theatre of Chicago concludes its 2015-16 Season with the U.S premiere of Deirdre Kinahan's probing drama SPINNING, directed by Joanie Schultz, playing May 25 - July 3, 2016 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently on sale at www.irishtheatreofchicago.org. The press opening is Friday, May 27 at 7:30 pm.

 Irish Theatre of Chicago concludes its 2015-16 Season with the U.S premiere of Deirdre Kinahan's probing drama SPINNING, directed by Joanie Schultz, playing May 25 - July 3, 2016 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently on sale at www.irishtheatreofchicago.org. The press opening is Friday, May 27 at 7:30 pm.

 Irish Theatre of Chicago concludes its 2015-16 Season with the U.S premiere of Deirdre Kinahan's probing drama SPINNING, directed by Joanie Schultz, playing May 25 - July 3, 2016 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets go sale Sunday, May 1, 2016 at www.irishtheatreofchicago.org. The press opening is Friday, May 27 at 7:30 pm.

Chester Theatre Company will present the New England Premiere of HALCYON DAYS, by acclaimed Irish playwright Deirdre Kinahan. Performances of the witty, touching comedy about reawakening to life's possibilities will run from tonight, July 9, through July 19.

Chester Theatre Company will present the New England Premiere of HALCYON DAYS, by acclaimed Irish playwright Deirdre Kinahan. Performances of the witty, touching comedy about reawakening to life's possibilities will run from July 9-19.

Irish Theatre of Chicago, formerly Seanachai Theatre Company, is pleased to announce its 2015-16 Season, featuring a U.S premiere and two Midwest premieres. The company's first-ever three-show season kicks off this fall with the Midwest premiere of Geraldine Aron's touching and comedic one-woman show MY BRILLIANT DIVORCE, directed by Siiri Scott. ITC's 21st Season continues in March 2016 with the Midwest premiere of Gary Mitchell's intense thriller IN A LITTLE WORLD OF OUR OWN, directed by Associate Artistic Director Jeri Frederickson. The season concludes in spring 2016 with the U.S. premiere of Deirdre Kinahan's probing drama SPINNING, directed by Joanie Schultz.

The 55th Dublin Theatre Festival will stage 27 world-class productions across 21 different venues in Dublin city and suburbs this September and October. As always the range of work will be eclectic, bold and diverse, offering spectacular, large-scale presentations, intimate performances and theatrical firsts to appeal to both seasoned theatre-goers and first-time audiences alike.