TO MARK the 20th anniversary of the debut of Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Druid Theatre Co, which staged that first performance, revive the play for the Town Hall Theatre this September.
Marie Mullen, Aisling O’Sullivan, Marty Rea, and Aaron Monaghan will star in this new production, which will be directed by Garry Hynes, from September 19 to 24. There will be a matinee on September 24 at 2pm. Previews run from September 15 to 17, and there will be no show on Sunday 18.
Set in Connemara, The Beauty Queen of Leenane centres on Maureen Folan, a lonely woman in her early forties, and Mag, her manipulative mother. Mag’s interference in Maureen's first and potentially last romantic relationship sets in motion a chain of events that are as blackly-funny as they are horrific.
Druid’s staging of The Beauty Queen... debuted in Galway in 1996, in a co-production with the Royal Court Theatre. It went on to play in London, including the West End, and later Broadway. It won critical acclaim, as well as won four Tony Awards in 1998 including Best Direction for Garry Hynes - the first woman to win a Tony for direction. In this new production, Marie Mullen plays Mag, having won a Tony for her portrayal of Maureen in the original production.
"It’s thrilling to bring The Beauty Queen... to life again, two decades on, here in Galway," says Garry. "The first outing of the production in 1996 took the world by storm and was a real whirlwind for Druid. Our audiences still speak about that experience. We’re really looking forward to revisiting it with them and having a new generation experience the production for the first time."
Tickets are available from the Town Hall on 091 - 569777 or www.tht.ie from Thursday May 5 with priority booking for Druid Supporters from Tuesday May 3. Tickets are limited. Early booking is advised. See also www.druid.ie
