Cast Set for Rough Magic And Abbey Theatre's CHILDREN OF THE SUN World Premiere

Rough Magic and Abbey Theatre will present the world premiere of Maxim Gorky's dark comedy, Children of the Sun, in a radical adaptation by playwright Hilary Fannin:

Aislín McGuckin, Brian Doherty, Stuart Campbell and Fiona Bell among the ensemble cast of a new play which sees dark humour skewer the uncertainty of the world, the fragility of life and our will to contend with our own humanity.

Theatre company Rough Magic and the Abbey Theatre revealed details of the cast of a radical adaptation by Hilary Fannin of Maxim Gorky's Children of the Sun, which will have its world premiere in April on the Abbey stage. Under the direction of Lynne Parker, the cast includes Aislín McGuckin, Brian Doherty, Colin Campbell, Fiona Bell, John Cronin, Stuart Graham, Ian Toner, Peter Newington, Rowan Finken, Rebecca O'Mara and Eavan Gaffney. The play runs from Saturday, 13th April until Saturday, 11th May.

"The here and now, Lisa, is more than enough to manage."

Travelling across time and space, taking in New York, California, the North of England, London and beyond, from the 20th century to present day, Children of the Sun is a play about how we survive without the benefit of hindsight and how we try to stay afloat in a world saturated in uncertainty. It tells the story of how a small family, their odd rattlebag of friends and one quixotic stranger distract, entertain and enrage each other over a 24-hour period, while beyond their fragile walls their world is being reshaped by inexorable forces.

"If art has any purpose, it should make us feel better."

Commenting, playwright Hilary Fannin said: "If we could read our future, would we? If we could detonate our past, might we? And what value is prediction when the writing is splashed on the wall? Children of the Sun, after Maxim Gorky's 1905 text, is a mordantly comic exploration of one household's attempts to shelter from the merciless approach of imminent devastation under a tattered blanket of art, beauty and dog-eared love."

Director and Artistic Director of Rough Magic, Lynne Parker added: "Whatever their level of prescience, the people in this play are venal, poetic, ridiculous, but in most cases likeable, and definitely funny. Hilary's unique vision - big ideas, major themes - needs a strong ensemble across all areas of production. This we have. So, we head into her explosive new work - in an exciting co-production with the Abbey to mark our anniversary year - with a potent mix of seriousness, ambition and the Rough Magic crackle of mischief."

Children of the Sun is programmed as part of The Gregory Project, a body of work to mark 120 years of the National Theatre of Ireland, celebrating co-founder Lady Gregory's trailblazing legacy as an artistic leader, a courageous producer and a champion of a generation of theatre makers. The production also marks Rough Magic's 40th anniversary.

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