Australian Theatre Company & Skylight Bring SWANSONG To Los Angeles

Pulled from the streets of 1960's Ireland, this gritty monodrama tells the story of Austin "Occi" Byrne, abused and isolated, violent and vulnerable, flawed and searching for redemption. This is theatre that doesn't settle for easy answers.

Translated into German and Swedish, Conor McDermottroe's international hit play Swansong was adapted to film. Selected for the Munich, Montreal and Camerimage film festivals, Swansong won best drama at the Galway Film Fleadh and was nominated for six ITFA's.

"Occi is an eternal optimist, says de Vanny. "we all know people who have hope even in the most dire situations. This is a timeless, relevant story. Prejudice and mental illness are unfortunately still prevalent in society today. This play speaks to those issues here and now. It shines a light on people who slip through the cracks, those who are outcast and forgotten."

Conor McDermottroe (Playwright) is a Writer/Director working across theatre, film, and television. His feature film, "Swansong, Story of Occi Byrne" was adapted from his play and selected for the Munich, Montreal and Camerimage film festivals. It won best drama at the Galway Film Fleadh and was nominated for six ITFAs in 2011, winning Martin McCann best actor for the role of Occi. Conor is currently in talks to stage his latest theatre piece and finishing pre-production work on a feature film, which he is adapting from a television screenplay. His works have been staged in Europe and the US where he was nominated for best new play at the IRNE awards. His first two screenplays were selected for the Moonstone International Screenwriter Workshops.

Greg Caroll (Director) has worked with La Mama, Melbourne Opera, The Australian Shakespeare Company, Playbox, Sydney Theatre Company, Theatreworks, Melbourne Writer's Theatre, Red Stitch and more. He has directed over 150 new Australian works and most recently helmed Pygmalion for The Australian Shakespeare Company, Glory Dazed for Red Stitch Theatre as well as Anna Karenina and four other productions for the Stork Theatre Company. He directed A Stretch of the Imagination by Jack Hibberd, which headlined at the Prague Fringe Festival, and is recognized as a specialist in Monodramas. Greg is co-founder of Melbourne's Fringe Festival.

André de Vanny's (Occi) performance in Swansong has achieved widespread critical acclaim with two sell out seasons at Sydney's The Old Fitz Theatre as well as Melbourne's Metanoia Theatre, and most recently at Theatre Works in Melbourne. He received a Green Room Award (Best Actor) for his role in Glory Dazed for Red Stitch Theatre Company. He starred opposite legendary Australian actor Colin Friels in John Logan's award winning two hander, Red, for the Melbourne Theatre Company and as Don Pedro in The Rover for Belvoir Theatre Company as well as the world premiere of the new Australian play Night Slows Down for the Bakehouse Theatre Company. André had a principal role in the Australian production of the heralded West-End War Horse for The National Theatre of London, performing more than 300 shows across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2016 Sydney Theatre Awards for his role in Of Mice And Men at Sport For Jove Theatre Company. His career began with the leading role in the international hit series Wicked Science 1 and 2 and has since appeared in numerous Australian feature films including the upcoming The Combination 2, Hating Alison Ashley, Under a Red Moon, Nice Shootin' Cowboy. He was seen in the Dreamworks/HBO's miniseries The Pacific, Steven King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Salem's Lot, and the acclaimed mini series Hercules.

Lighting Design by Jared A. Sayeg

Australian Theatre Company (Producer) is recognized in Los Angeles for their critically acclaimed productions of Grey Nomad (winner Best Play - Local Production 2017 BroadwayWorld.Com Award), Speaking in Tongues, Ruben Guthrie, and Holding the Man. ATC's annual reading series has presented 17 new Australian works since its launch in 2015, and partnered with the prestigious 16th Street Actors Studio Australia, to launch an education program that has included master classes with top professionals such as Tony Award, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize winning writer and director, John Patrick Shanley. Their first workshop in New York with Mr. Shanley will be October 2018 in the Loreto Theatre at the Sheen Center. A truly collaborative company, ATC continues to harness the rich breadth of Australian talent in the United States along with the finest American practitioners, to create a meaningful cultural exchange. For more information, please visit www.australiantheatrecompany.org

Skylight Theatre Company won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award this year (Best Production) for their West Coast Premiere staging of Rotterdam by Jon Brittain. Additional LADCC awards for Rotterdam include Writing and Lead Actress. Recognized as a powerhouse of new play development by Dramatist Magazine, many of their premieres have gone on to be performed nationally and internationally. Skylight's resident PlayLAb helmed by Pulitzer Prize Finalist and Tony Award nominee Lee Blessing, includes alumni that have productions nationwide, a national 2014 USA Ford Fellowship in Theater and Performance (Sigrid Gilmer), and a win in the 2015 Humanitas/CTG Playwriting Prize (Louisa Hill - Lord of the Underworld's Home for Unwed Mothers). Skylight won 4 Ovation Awards in 2014 for The Wrong Man and Pray To Ball (the most of any intimate theatre in LA) and was named to LA Weekly's 2013 Top Ten list. In 2011, Skylight's first year dedicated to developing new plays, Hermetically Sealed made the LA Times annual Top Ten Plays. For more information, go to http://skylighttheatre.org

Swansong opens at 8:30pm on Saturday, September 8th and continues Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30pm; 2:00pm on Sundays; and 8:00pm on Mondays through October 7, 2018. Skylight Theatre is located at 1816 1/2 N. Vermont Ave, LA, 90027. Tickets are $15 - $32. Reservations: (866) 811-4111, atctix.org or http://SkylightTix.com

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