The Complex to Present Irish Stage Premiere of ON THE WATERFRONT
The production opens November 1-16, 2024, with previews on October 30-31.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Aug. 29, 2024
In another first, The Complex, Dublin, will present the Irish stage premiere of Budd Schulberg's - with Stan Silverman's 'On the Waterfront', directed by The Complex's Artistic Director, Vanessa Fielding, on the 70th anniversary of one of the most acclaimed films in Hollywood history.
"I could have been a contender"
mourns protagonist Terry Malloy, to be played by Dublin's rising star Lloyd Cooney, in a performance that promises to echo the strength and vulnerability of one of film's greatest roles.
The line still resonates today; every time we question our values in the face of injustice or hold on to our integrity, despite the consequences.
This thrilling, classic story of corruption, power and masculinity unfolds on the New York docks with an ensemble cast representing the cream of Irish acting talent. The line up includes veteran film actors Michael Collins, Mark O'Regan and Luke Griffin.
The Complex, known for their immersive productions, will continue to take advantage of their unique, industrial aesthetic at The Depot; the old fruit factory in Smithfield.
In the first ever staging of this play in Ireland, the production will include a giant recreation of the New York docks with the action taking place on different levels, surrounded by the audience.
Previous pieces of The Complex's immersive theatre include 'The Rose Tattoo' 'Dublin Will Show You How', 'Complexity', 'Iron' and 'Green' amongst others.
Dockworker Terry Malloy was a boxer on the up, until local mob boss Johnny Friendly persuaded him to throw a fight that ended his career. When a longshoreman is brutally murdered before he can testify against Friendly, Terry teams up with the dead man's sister Edie and streetwise priest Father Barry to take down the corrupt union bosses.
On the Waterfront accumulated no less than twelve oscar nominations, winning eight including Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), Best Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint) and Best Director (Elia Kazan).
It is considered one of the greatest films ever made.
Last year, The Complex adapted Tennessee Williams' classic play 'The Rose Tattoo',
in a pioneering production that reset the classic in a modern Irish Traveller setting.
This new version of the play features Dublin actor Lloyd Cooney, a rising star of the stage and screen having starred in RTÉ's hit crime drama, Kin, the hit indie movie Deadly Cuts (2021), on stage in Straight to Video(2021) and last year's pioneering production of The Rose Tattoo at The Complex.
Award-winning, veteran Irish actor Michael Collins plays several roles in this production - Collins has starred in many film and TV roles such as Strength & Honour (2007) and Legend of the Bog (2009) and long running TV series Glenroe. In 2011 he received a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to promoting Travellers' rights. His play Ireland, Shed a Tear? (2016) commemorated the first anniversary of the Carrickmines tragedy.
Luke Griffin has recently appeared in TV series' The Inheritance (2023), Clean Sweep (2023) andThe House Across the Street (2022) and the hit animation Two by Two: Overboard! (2020), films The Disappearance of Finbar (1996), The Nephew (1998) and Stephen Spielberg's acclaimed miniseries Band of Brothers in 2001.
Other cast members include David O'Meara, a favourite of the Irish theatre, who has performed on the Gate, Abbey and Gaiety stages over the years, previously working with Vanessa Fielding on Dublin Will Show You How, at the Abbey (2019) and F.A.T. D.A.D. at the Complex (2019). He's known for recent work in mini-series' The Titans That Built America (2021) and Éirí Amach Amú, commemorating the centenary of the Easter Rising. He also starred in the podcast series Extraordinary Éire (2022).
Galway actor Eoin Geoghegan has been in hit TV shows Call The Midwife, Doctors, Doing Money (BBC);Seacht (TG4/BBC); Cold Case Collins (RTÉ), films Dark Lies the Island (2019) and widely acclaimed Irish language film Foscadh (2021).
Emerging young actor and star of the Lir Academy Darren Mone plays four characters in the play; and well-known Cork actor Mark O'Regan is best is known for his roles in The Commitments (1991), Kilnaskully (Leap Year (2010) and In the Land of Saints and Sinners (2023); Shane O'Regan is a Dublin actor, known for the films The Shamrock Spitfire (2024), Control (2021) and The Watchers (2024); and finally a graduate from London's Central School of Speech & Drama, Anne O'Riordan is known for her roles in Casualty (2023), Call The Midwife (2022) and on stage in Roddy Doyle's hit The Giggler Treatment (2023).
David Gorry is known for Michael Collins (1996), With or Without You (1999), Lamb (1985) and the iconic stage production of 'Frank Pig Says Hello' in 1992.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
The Depot @ The Complex, 12 Mary's Abbey, Dublin 7
Previews: Wednesday 30 & Thursday 31 October @ 7.30pm / Tickets €15 - €18
Opens: Friday 1 November @ 7.30pm / Tickets €15 - €31
Runs: until Saturday 16 November @ 7.30pm / Tickets €15 - €31
Matinees: Tuesday 5, 12, Thursday 7 & 14 November @ 7.30pm
and Sunday 10 November @ 5.00pm / Tickets €15 - €24.50
The Complex Box Office - Tel: 01 537 8352 / https://www.thecomplex.ie/event/on-the-waterfront
DURATION: 2hrs. 15 (inclusive of 15 min interval)
The Depot @ The Complex is wheelchair accessible
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