Directed by Garry Hynes, audiences will experience The Plough and the Stars, The Shadow of a Gunman and Juno and the Paycock like never before.
A century ago, Ireland was reborn in the fires of rebellion and war. The playwright Sean O’Casey bore witness to these seismic events and dramatised them as the Dublin Trilogy, three great works of Irish theatre, full of history, humanity and humour – The Plough and the Stars, The Shadow of a Gunman and Juno and the Paycock.
100 years later, Druid will weave O’Casey’s three plays into an epic theatrical event of conflict, national identity and the human toll of war. DruidO’Casey is Druid’s most ambitious production yet and one of the greatest Irish stories ever told.
The world premiere of DruidO’Casey will take place at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway this July as part of Galway International Arts Festival between July 9 – 30. It will then travel to the Lyric Theatre in Belfast and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.
Directed by Tony Award winner Garry Hynes, the three plays will be performed together in one day, drawing parallels between an Irish past and an international present. A limited number of single-play performances will also take place.
DruidO’Casey begins with The Plough and the Stars, the story of newlyweds Jack and Nora Clitheroe living in a city on the brink of rebellion in 1916. In The Shadow of a Gunman, Donal Davoren, Seumas Shields and Minnie Powell find themselves tragically tangled up in the Irish War of Independence. The saga ends with Juno and the Paycock and the Boyle family who see their fortunes dashed amidst the upheaval of the Irish Civil War.
A large cast of 18 actors will perform over 40 roles in these three classic plays. Four members of the Druid Ensemble, Garrett Lombard, Aaron Monaghan, Rory Nolan and Marty Rea will be joined on stage by Gabriel Adewusi, Tara Cush, Zara Devlin, Caitríona Ennis, Hilda Fay, Tommy Harris, Anna Healy, Liam Heslin, Bosco Hogan, Sean Kearns, Sophie Lenglinger, Sarah Morris, Robbie O’Connor and Catherine Walsh.
The creative team led by Garry Hynes includes many artists who worked on previous Druid play cycles including set and costume designer Francis O’Connor, lighting designer James F. Ingalls, sound designer Gregory Clarke, movement director David Bolger, and composer and musical director Conor Linehan. Four of the recipients of The Marie Mullen Bursary (Druid’s annual award for female theatre artists ) will also form part of the creative team: co-costume designer Clíodhna Hallissey, associate director Sarah Baxter, assistant director Katie O’Halloran, and assistant lighting designer Suzie Cummins (this year’s recipient of the bursary ). The creative team will also include casting director Amy Rowan and hair and make-up designer Gráinne Coughlan.
Garry Hynes, Artistic Director of Druid says: "It has been a long-held ambition to combine these three incredible plays into one theatrical saga, and to celebrate O’Casey as one of Ireland’s greatest playwrights, deftly matching the tragedy of these events with the comedy and wit of his characters. Ahead of this mammoth undertaking, I wish to pay tribute to the legion of people who will make this all happen: the Druid Staff, Board and Ensemble; the dozens of freelance theatre artists and practitioners; our partner festivals and venues; and our funders and supporters including the Arts Council, Culture Ireland, University of Galway, Galway City Council, our great friend Paul Boskind, and production sponsor Smurfit Kappa."
Visit www.druid.ie for more information and to book your ticket.
