Druid starts the year with a live stream of a new play from The Mick Lally Theatre, Galway

Druid is delighted to announce the live stream of Once Upon a Bridge, a new play by Sonya Kelly. The production will be directed by Sara Joyce and will premiere at The Mick Lally Theatre in February for four performances. Audiences across Ireland and beyond can watch this new play from their own home.

The play is performed on February 11, 12, and 13 at 7:30pm. On February 13, there is also a matinee at 2:30pm. For tickets, see druid.ie.

During the first lockdown last spring, Druid commissioned Sonya Kelly to write a new play. Once Upon a Bridge follows the success of Sonya Kelly's comedy Furniture, which Druid toured nationally in 2019. The cast of this new production includes Druid Ensemble member Aaron Monaghan with Siobhán Cullen and Adetomiwa Edun.

"Druid will continue to present live theatre in whatever way possible," said Garry Hynes, Druid's Artistic Director. "A new play from Sonya is terrific in any case but to have her write something directly inspired by these extraordinary times is particularly exciting. We're describing it as a fairytale for a modern age and I'm really looking forward to seeing our audiences' response to it. Each performance of Once Upon a Bridge will be presented in The Mick Lally Theatre, Galway, streamed live from Druid's home to yours."

Early one morning on Putney Bridge, three strangers' lives collided for one fleeting second.

Inspired by real events, Once Upon a Bridge weaves a tale about human triumph and frailty, about the power of destiny and chance, and why sometimes we choose to hate, and other times we choose to dance.

The play's creative team include graduates of Druid's artist development programmes. In 2016, Sonya Kelly submitted Furniture for consideration under Druid's New Writing process. It received a staged reading as part of the Druid Debut series and a year later Druid premiered the play as part of the 2018 Galway International Arts Festival. The production then toured nationally to thirteen venues in 2019.

Similarly, Sara Joyce first worked with the company as a director for the Druid Debut series in 2019. Sara has worked with leading theatres in London including the National Theatre, The Yard, The Bush and the Old Vic Theatre.

Clíodhna Hallissey was the 2019 recipient of the Marie Mullen Bursary and since then has worked on Druid productions including as Costume Designer for On the Outside as part of DruidGregory and now for Once Upon a Bridge. This year, Druid expanded the Marie Mullen Bursary for female theatre practitioners and awarded the bursary to two directors. Emily Foran will be Assistant Director for Once Upon a Bridge. Last autumn, Sarah Baxter worked as Assistant Director for DruidGregory.

The cast of Once Upon a Bridge includes Druid Ensemble member Aaron Monaghan (The Cherry Orchard, DruidShakespeare: Richard III, Waiting for Godot) with Siobhán Cullen (The Cherry Orchard, DruidShakespeare: Richard III) and Adetomiwa Edun (BBC's Merlin, Universal/Netflix's Bates Motel; Translations, National Theatre).

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