Finborough Theatre Presents THE EARLY BIRD

The Great Britain premiere of The Early Bird, by George Devine award-winning playwright Leo Butler, opens on 2 February 2010 at the Finborough Theatre (Press Night: Friday, 5 February 2010), part of the [ NEW YEAR | NEW PLAYS SEASON ], celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Finborough Theatre.

Every five minutes a child goes missing.

Debbie and Jack face the ultimate parental nightmare - the disappearance of their child - and find themselves thrown into a vicious cycle of recrimination and self-hatred. Butler's play delves into the underbelly of a couple's experience of becoming parents, revealing their fears, anxieties and repulsions; as well as exploring the vacuum that is left when the child is removed.

In many ways Leo's most experimental play to date The Early Bird takes you deep inside the troubled and fractured minds of the traumatized, unlocking the door to the darkest corners of the human imagination. Real life husband and wife Catherine Cusack and Alex Palmer play Debbie and Jack, bringing an added intimacy and a depth to the portrayal of the grieving couple, as they relive their last memories of their daughter.

Playwright Leo Butler is an award-winning playwright, winning the prestigious George Devine Award in 2001. He is currently working on an adaptation of The Pilgrim's Progress for the Royal Shakespeare Company and a feature film project with the artist Gillian Wearing. His plays include Faces in the Crowd, Lucky Dog, Redundant, Made of Stone (Royal Court Theatre), I'll Be The Devil (Royal Shakespeare Company), Heroes (National Theatre), The Early Bird (Belfast Festival) and Devotion (Theatre Centre Tour). Leo's BBC television play Jerusalem the Golden was broadcast in 2002. He also teaches The Royal Court Theatre's respected Young Writers' Programme.

Director Donnacadh O'Briain recently directed a major Irish production of King Lear, with Gerard Murphy and Catherine Cusack for Dublin's Second Age Theatre Company. He also worked with Complicité as a collaborator on the development of Endgame. He spent three years as Assistant Director with the Royal Shakespeare Company, working initially on The Canterbury Tales and subsequently with Michael Boyd on the multi award-winning Histories, including Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 and 2, Henry V, Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 and Richard III. Other directing includes, in the UK, Richard III (Southwark Playhouse - Winner of the Better Bankside Shakespeare Award), Hush (Edinburgh Festival and Arcola Theatre) and his adaptation of David Lynch's Blue Velvet (Edinburgh Festival). In Dublin, Don't Take Your Coat Off (Irish Tour and Dublin Fringe Festival - Award Nominee), Kilt (Andrew's Lane Theatre), Twelfth Night (Dublin Fringe Festival), The Comical Mysteries and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Civic Theatre). As Assistant Director at Dublin's Gate Theatre, Donnacadh worked on A Christmas Carol and The Eccentricities of a Nightingale. As a student, he was awarded Best Director at the Irish Student Drama Awards for his adaptation of Mistero Buffo. Donnacadh has taught acting at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, East 15, DIT and was last year's Artist in Residence at Warwick University.

Designer takis studied Stage Design at the Romanian National University of Arts, Bucharest (1998-2002) and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London (2002-2004). During the same period, he also assisted at the Royal Opera House, the Opera Festival of Rome, the Greek National Opera and the Megaron, Athens Concert Hall. His design work has been seen worldwide in various indoor and outdoor venues. Theatre includes Stovepipe (Hightide and National Theatre at the Bush), The Marriage Bed (Hong Kong and New York), Invasion (Soho Theatre), Boxergirl, Scenes from the Big Picture (RADA), I Caught Crabs in Walberswick (Bush Theatre and Edinburgh Festival), A Tale for Winter (UK Tour), Marat/Sade (Jermyn Street Theatre), Crazy Lady (The Drill Hall and Contact Theatre, Manchester), Nikolina (Edinburgh Festival) and Schweyk in the Second World War (Duisburg, Germany). Installations include Forgotten Peacock (Design Museum and The Brunswick), The Tempest (Hobbs Factory), Installation 496 (RADA), Goldfish (Paris, France), Mythological Installation Oedipus (Bucharest, Romania), Visual Performance in Baroque Spirit (Venice, Italy). Music Performances include Maria Callas - Vissi D'arte, Vissi D'amore (Barbican), Choruses, In the Light of the Night (Ancient Epidaurus Theatre, Frankfurt), The Words of Love (Athens, Greece), Nikos Skalkotas (Queen Elizabeth Hall). www.takis.info.

Composer Philip Stewart's recent work includes Second Age's production of King Lear, directed by Donnacadh O'Briain. Work at The National Theatre of Ireland - Abbey Theatre, Dublin, includes Ages of the Moon, Lay Me Down Softly, Terminus, A Number and The Big House. He has developed a long-standing relationship with Hatch Theatre Company and created original music and sound design for their critically acclaimed production of Further than the Furthest as well as Cruel and Tender, The Country, Pyrenees and Blood (Project Arts Centre, Dublin). Other theatre includes Jumping on my Shadow (TEAM), The Last Days of the Celtic Tiger (Olympia Theatre, Dublin), Paranoid and The Licky Rake Show (RedBear Productions). As a freelance composer he has contributed music to theatre, dance, documentaries and short films. Philip studied composition at Trinity College Dublin under Donnacha Dennehy and Roger Doyle.

The cast includes:
Catherine Cusack's theatre credits in the UK include the sell-out production of The Gigli Concert at the Finborough Theatre, What Fatima Did (Hampstead Theatre), Fragile, The Factory Girls (Arcola Theatre), Uncle Vanya (Wilton's Music Hall), Mary Stuart (National Theatre of Scotland), The Mushroom Pickers (Southwark Playhouse), Bronte (York Theatre Royal), Mill on the Floss, Mrs Warren's Profession (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith), Our Lady of Sligo (Out of Joint at The National Theatre), Blood Red Saffron Yellow (Drum Theatre, Plymouth), Measure for Measure (English Touring Theatre), Prayers of Sherkin (The Old Vic) and Phaedra's Love (Gate Theatre). Theatre in Ireland includes King Lear (Second Age Theatre Company, Dublin), You Never Can Tell, The Seagull, Moonlight (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Lovers Meeting (Druid Theatre, Galway), Bold Girls (National Theatre of Ireland - Peacock Theatre) and Agnes of God (Andrews Lane Theatre, Dublin). Film includes Finding Neverland, Conspiracy of Silence, Boxed and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne. Television includes The Bill, Doctors, Jonathan Creek, Ballykissangel, Coronation Street, Cadfael and Dr. Who.

Alex Palmer's theatre credits include Bad Jazz (National Tour), About the Boy, Under the Skin (Royal Court Theatre), The Novice (Almeida Theatre), Blood Red Saffron Yellow (Drum Theatre, Plymouth) and Hush (Edinburgh Festival and Arcola Theatre). Film includes Eden Lake, Closing the Ring, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Master and Commander, 28 Days Later, Plunkett and MacLean and Still Crazy. Television includes Identity, Law and Order UK, The Bill, Casualty, Iceman Murder, Doc Martin, Who Killed Charlie Bravo, Spooks, Holby City, Ultimate Force, Walking with Cavemen, Armadillo, Mrs Bradley Mystery, Night Flight, Innocents, Sunburn, Dangerfield and Butterfly Collectors.