Boise Contemporary Theater to Open 20th Season with A SKULL IN CONNEMARA

Boise Contemporary Theater today announced the full casting for the opening play of its 20th Season, Martin McDonagh's A SKULL IN CONNEMARA. Set in the Irish village of Leenane, the play follows Mick Dowd (Arthur Glen Hughes), a gravedigger who, every autumn, disinters bones from his local cemetery to make room for new arrivals. When Mick has to dig up the grave of his dead wife, Oona, the locals begin to wonder, once again, what role Mick played in her sudden death seven years ago.

A SKULL IN CONNEMARA previews October 7-9, with Opening Night on October 10, 2015. The full run is October 7-October 31 with Wednesday through Saturday evening performances, and Saturday matinees on October 17, 24 and 31. Two post-show discussions with the director and actors are scheduled for Friday, October 16 and the matinee performance on Saturday, October 24. Doors open at 7 pm with 8 pm curtains for all evening performances. Matinees are at 2 pm.

Assigned to help Mick dig is young Mairtin Hanlon (Cameron Needham), a clueless but likable misfit that Mick would rather not have around. Mairtin's older brother, Thomas Hanlon (Nicholas Paul Garcia) -- a policeman who gets his inspiration from 1980s American cop shows -- is sniffing around, further rattling Mick. Meanwhile, Maryjohnny Rafferty (Peggy Cosgrove) shows up to drink and resuscitate old suspicions she's unwilling to bury.

Mysterious and macabre, hilarious and haunting, witty and wily, Skull is Mr. McDonagh at his best. Part of The Leanne Trilogy along with The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Lonesome West, Skull is a laugh-out-loud buried gem with a dark twist. The third McDonagh production for BCT -- after The Cripple of Inishmaan in the first season on Fulton Street and The Pillowman in 2008 -- A SKULL IN CONNEMARA is a fitting opener to Boise Contemporary Theater's 20th Season.

Mr. McDonagh is an Academy Award winning, two-time Laurence Olivier Award winning, and four-time Tony Award nominated playwright. He is the first playwright since William Shakespeare to have four plays running simultaneously in London's West End. The Guardian said it best when it wrote, "Mr. McDonagh's great strength is that he combines a love of traditional storytelling with the savage ironic humor of the modern generation."

The set, a cozy Irish cottage with a few secrets in its shadows, is the work of BCT Resident Scenic Designer, Michael Baltzell; the evocative lighting and sound are by designers Fred Hansen and Peter John Still respectively; with inventively authentic costuming by Darrin Pufall; dialect coaching by Ann Price; and direction by BCT Founding Artistic Director, Matthew Cameron Clark.

IF YOU GO:

A SKULL IN CONNEMARA

Oct. 7-31, 2015

8 pm / 7 pm doors | 2 pm matinees / 1 pm doors on Oct. 17, 24 and 31

Previews Oct. 7-9 | Opening Oct. 10

Talk-backs Oct. 16 (evening) and 24 (matinee)

$16-34 at www.bctheater.org/season/connemara or (208) 331-9224 x205

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