Druid will fly the flag for Irish theatre in the US for St Patrick’s Day when the company presents Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan in Chicago and Enda Walsh’s Penelope in Washington DC.
Both tours are part of Imagine Ireland, Culture Ireland’s year-long season of Irish arts in America in 2011, and Druid’s participation has been cited as one of the highlights of the year-long event.
“We’re thrilled to be celebrating our national day of culture amidst our Irish and American friends with the work of these two great writers in two great American cities,” said Druid’s artistic director Garry Hynes.
Enda Walsh’s Penelope returns to America following a hugely successful visit to St Ann’s Warehouse in New York last October. In what was a major achievement for the play, it made The New York Times top 10 theatre highlights of 2010.
Enda Walsh and Garry Hynes will be in attendance at the play and on St Patrick’s Day, Garry will attend a special reception at the residence of Ambassador Michael Collins to honour An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his wife Fionnuala.
The current tour of The Cripple of Inishmaan marks Druid’s third coast-to-coast US tour since 2008 and the most extensive US tour by an Irish theatre company in decades.
By the time the tour concludes on the island of Inis Meain on June 26, it will have played four Irish and nine US venues. The production previously toured Ireland in 2008 and will return to the Town Hall Theatre in Galway from June 22 to 24. For full tour details see www.druid.ie
