Once Off Production Present Clare Monnelly And Bob Kelly's Play, THE HARE On Tour This February & March

Actor Una Ní Bhriain and musician Steve Wickham (The Waterboys) compose a visual and aural treat in Clare Monnelly and Bob Kelly's play, The Hare - tours this February and March to 10 venues across Ireland:

Once Off Productions present their 2024 touring play, The Hare, by award-winning theatre-makers Clare Monnelly (Moon Boy, Charlie is a Clepto) and Bob Kelly (Breakfast On Pluto). This one-woman play (with live music) explores being out on the fringes in rural Ireland and how a young woman deals with her isolation by her friends - and which route will work for her sanity - the innate wildness within her or dealing head-on with the supposed civilised world that rejects her.

The Hare premiered in 2023 at Cairde Arts Festival, Sligo as well as Cork Arts Theatre and Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire and was an instant hit with audiences and Once Off Productions are thrilled to bring this unique show back to the stage across Ireland. Audience members who saw the play last year upon its first outing, commented saying the play is "a beautiful, staggering piece of writing"and that it is an "Outstanding" production.

An absent father looms large in this story and when the play opens the audience are introduced to the unnamed troubled girl (played by Ní Bhriain) who never knew her father and whose mother is confined to her bed. She's an odd one; a lonely girl living at the edge of the world, ridiculed by her peers and unable to fit in. Torn between the society that rejects her & her own wilder nature, she creates her own world, and lives as best she can. She sees the rest of them, but holds them at a distance. We meet her on the day that is today - and today is made different by the arrival of a letter. An opening. A suggestion of potential life beyond this place and these people.

Directed by Bob Kelly, performed by Úna Ní Bhriain with live music by Steve Wickham (The Waterboys).

ABOUT:

Clare Monnelly is an actor and a writer. Her first play Charlie's a Clepto was nominated for two Irish Times Theatre Awards (Best New Play, Best Actress) and the Stewart Parker New Playwright Bursary. Her second play minefield premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival 2019 and was nominated for three Fringe Awards (Best Design, Fishamble New Writing Award, First Fortnight Award). This year she has premiered two new plays - The Hare with Once Off Productions and Cairde Arts Festival and The Local with Asylum Productions and Kilkenny Arts Festival. SuperBogger with Livin' Dred Theatre Company will debut in November. Clare's debut short film Departure was made as part of Screen Ireland and Bow Street's Actor as Creator scheme and premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh 2022. She has just been awarded Screen Ireland Focus Short funding for her second short film, Cat & Mouse.

As an actor Clare has worked with Druid, the Gate, the Abbey and Decadent amongst others, and was nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Mary in Livin Dred's production of Tom Murphy's Bailegangaire. On screen she has worked with RTÉ, Sky One, Deadpan Pictures, Element and many more. She has just completed filming on Cine4 featureFréamhacha for DoubleBand Films.

Bob Kelly is a Director and Actor. His recent work includes Humans: A Robot Musical and The Sleep that Ceased to Settle for Graffiti Theatre; Once: The Musical for Landmark Productions; Klaus Haro's feature film My Sailor My Love; and the short film Vote Matty.

Recent writing projects include Breakfast on Pluto: A New Musical for Landmark Productions and Tintown for Blue Raincoat. He is recently co-written The Hare with Clare Monnelly; and a new staging of Pat McCabe's acclaimed novel The Butcher Boy.

In 2021 he shared the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Ensemble (The Travels of Johnathan Swift), and in 2012 was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (The Poor Mouth).

As a playwright, he has written for Landmark Productions (Breakfast on Pluto), for Blue Raincoat (Tintown, The Rallying Call) and for the Hawk's Well Theatre (The Big Wall). From 2016-18 he was Artist in Residence at the Hawk's Well. He has been featured in the US publication The Steampunk User's Manual: An Illustrated Practical and Whimsical Guide to Creating Retro-Futurist Dreams. He is an alumnus of ITI's Six in the Attic programme.

ONCE OFF Productions

ONCE OFF Productions is an independent producing platform established in 2004 by Maura O'Keeffe to provide creative and flexible producing supports for independent performing artists. Currently funded under a new Creative Production Services pilot scheme by the Arts Council of Ireland, Once Off is led by a small team of experienced cultural sector professionals. Once Off enables some of the most brilliant and exciting artists based in Ireland today to develop, create and present new work for us all.

TOUR INFORMATION:

The Factory, Sligo

Monday 26 + Tuesday 27 November @ 8.00pm / €20

Box Office via Eventbrite - https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-hare-by-clare-monnelly-bob-kelly-tickets-796902686387?aff=oddtdtcreator

Mick Lally Theatre, Galway

Thursday 29 February - Saturday 2 March @ 8.00pm / €20

Mick Lally Box Office - Tel: 091 568 660 /https://themicklallytheatre.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873642709

Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Co Wicklow

Wednesday 6 March @ 8.00pm / €21

Mermaid Box Office - Tel: 01 272 4030 / https://www.mermaidartscentre.ie/whats-on/events/the-hare

Ramor Arts Centre, Virginia, Co. Cavan

Friday 8 March @ 8.00pm / €20

Ramor Box Office - Tel: 049 854 7074 / https://townhallcavan.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173646272

Axis Arts Centre, Ballymun, Dublin

Tuesday 12 March @ 7.30pm / €14/€16

Axis Box Office - Tel: 01 883 2100 /

https://axisballymun.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173652628

Belltable, Limerick

Thursday 14 March @ 8.00pm / €20/€22

Belltable Box Office - Tel: 061 953 400 / https://limetreebelltable.ie/events/the-hare/

Theatre Royal, Waterford

Thursday 21 March @ 8.00pm / €10-€21

Theatre Royal Box Office - Tel: 051 874 402 / https://theatreroyal.ie/event/the-hare/

Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, Co Louth

Saturday 23 March @ 8.00pm / €16-€18

Droichead Box Office - Tel: 041 983 3946 / https://www.droichead.com/show-detail/?id=873655587

Backstage Theatre, Longford

Tuesday 26 March @ 8.00pm / €16-€18

Backstage Box Office - Tel: 043 334 7888 / https://backstage.ie/events/the-hare/

Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare

Thursday 28 March @ 8.00pm / €18-€20

Riverbank Box Office - Tel: 045 448 327 / https://www.riverbank.ie/event/once-off-productions-presents-the-hare/

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