Full Cast Set For A SLOW FIRE at Jermyn Street Theatre
Rex Ryan directs Ross Gaynor, Fionn Ó Loingsigh, and Ian Toner in Simon Stephens' post-apocalyptic drama.
Jermyn Street Theatre and Glass Mask Theatre have announced the full cast for the UK premiere of Simon Stephens' A Slow Fire, a remarkable post-apocalyptic story of hope and survival. Glass Mask Theatre's Artistic Director Rex Ryan directs Ross Gaynor (Ashton), Fionn Ó Loingsigh (Presley) and Ian Toner (Reece), who reprise their roles from the Dublin production. Performances will run 20 August - 26 September 2026.
The production, which premiered at Glass Mask Theatre in Dublin earlier this year, opens on 25 August, with previews from 20 August, and runs until 26 September. A Slow Fire follows two men trapped in a bunker, navigating grief, memory and humanity's search for meaning after a global catastrophe.
Rex Ryan said, “What a special opportunity to bring this Pandora's box of a play to the intrepid Jermyn Street Theatre. Simon Stephens is one of the most extraordinary artists working in theatre today and his relationship with Glass Mask has become very important to me and all of our collaborators. I hope for this to be an opportunity to introduce London to our brand of intense firebrand acting, showcase our commitment to new work and welcome three of Ireland's great theatre actors to the London stage.”
Years after the apocalypse, Ashton and Reese survive in a bunker on the edge of an imaginary city. Searching for hope, they spend their days acting out stories from the before times. When a stranger appears, is he here to save them? Or is he telling a tale too good to be true?
The new play from Tony and Olivier award winning Simon Stephens is part thriller, part excavation of the soul. Rex Ryan directs this UK premiere.
Biographies
Simon Stephens' plays include An Ark, Song from Far Away, Cornelia Street, Morning Sun, Fortune, Light Falls, Maria, Fatherland, Rage, Heisenberg, Nuclear War, Song from Far Away, Birdland, Carmen Disruption, Blindsided, Morning, Three Kingdoms, Wastwater, Punk Rock, The Trial of Ubu, Marine Parade, Sea Wall, Harper Regan, Pornography, Motortown, On the Shore of the Wide World, One Minute, Country Music, Christmas, Port, Herons, and Bluebird. He has adapted Chekhov's VANYA for the stage, also Jose Saramago's Blindness, and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. He has written English language versions of Jon Fosse's I Am the Wind, Odon von Horvath's Kasimir and Karoline (titled The Funfair), Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and The Seagull, and Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera. He has presented four series of the Royal Court Playwright's Podcast. His book “A Working Diary” is published by Methuen. Stephens has been an Associate at the Royal Court, London and Steep, Chicago and a board member of Paines Plough. He has been an Associate Artist at the Lyric, Hammersmith, a Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University and an Associate Professor at the Danish National School of the Performing Arts, Copenhagen.
Ross Gaynor plays Ashton. His theatre credits include The Magic Glasses (Bewleys Café Theatre), The United States vs Ulysses (Irish Arts Center, NYC), Piaf (Gate Theatre, Dublin), All The Angels, The Train (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), and I Am A Bird Now (Theatre Upstairs, Dublin). His television credits include Normal People, Vikings: Valhalla, and Blasts from the Past.
Fionn Ó Loingsigh plays Presley. His theatre credits include Three Sisters (Gaiety Theatre), The Map of Argentina (An Taibhdhearc, Galway and Galway International Arts Festival), Conversations After Sex (Dublin Theatre Festival and Irish Arts Center, NYC), The Last Return (Mick Lally Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Dublin Theatre Festival and Ireland tour), Portia Coughlan (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), Juno and the Paycock (Gate Theatre, Dublin, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Bristol Old Vic), The Plough and the Stars (National Theatre), and Deadly (Peacock Theatre, Dublin). His television credits include The Rainmaker, Lynley, Bad Siters, Ellis, Storyland, Witness Number 3, Tin Star, Trigonometry, Darklands, Broken, Moonfleet, Trivia; and for film, What Richard Did, Out of Here, Cardboard Gangsters, Wren Boys, and Rhinos.
Ian Toner plays Reece. His theatre credits include Punk Rock (Lyric Theatre), The Vortex, Romeo and Juliet, Look Back in Anger (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Double Cross (Lyric Theatre and Abbey Theatre, Dublin), The Treaty (National Concert Hall, Dublin), The Delirium Archive (Project Arts Centre, Dublin), Children of the Sun (Abbey Theatre, Dublin). His television credits include Harald & Sonja, The Dry, Storyland, Smother, Vikings: Valhalla, The Titans That Built America Catch 22, The Commoner, and Bloodaxe; and for film, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Aisha, and Bucking Fastard.
Rex Ryan directs. As Artistic Director of Glass Mask Theatre his directing credits include Deirdre Kinahan's Bloody Yesterday, The Few by Samuel D Hunter, and The Monk (and Ambassador Theatre, Dublin – also writer). As a writer Rex has written numerous critically acclaimed plays and has had his fiction work published. As an actor, his theatre credits include One Hour to Ron Montana, Pop Tart Lipstick, Summerhill, Howie The Rookie, Idlewild (all Glass Mask Theatre), Tonight with Donny Stixx (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), Quicksand, Hamlet (The New Theatre, Dublin), Bug, Made in China, Hamlet (The Viking Theatre), Hollow Ground (Theatre Upstairs, Dublin), and Pilgrim (Dublin Fringe Festival and UK tour). His television credits include Borderline, Harry Wild, That Dirty Black Bag, Quantico, and Vikings. Rex was also recently nominated Best Actor at the Richard Harris International Film Festival for the film Waiting.
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