Dermot Crowley and Dearbhla Molloy Lead AFTERPLAY, Beginning Tonight at Irish Rep

Irish Repertory Theatre presents the New York premiere of AFTERPLAY, by Tony and Olivier Award winner Brian Friel. Directed by Joe Dowling (Tartuffe), and starring Irish stage and screen stars Dermot Crowley and Dearbhla Molloy.

AFTERPLAY begins performances tonight, September 22, 2016, at Irish Rep Theatre (132 West 22nd Street) in the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre and officially opens on October 2, 2016, running through November 6. Tickets are on sale now through Irish Rep's box office at 212-727-2737 or online at www.irishrep.org.

AFTERPLAY is a meeting of two of the world's greatest dramatists at the helm of legendary director Joe Dowling. Brian Friel revisits the lives of two of Anton Chekhov's enduring characters- Sonya, Uncle Vanya's dutiful niece, and Andrey, the downtrodden intellectual brother of The Three Sisters.

They meet by chance in a late night cafe in 1920s Moscow. The concert violinist and determined estate owner cannot escape their origins, and the circumstances furnished by their creator are still determining their lives. Part of Andrey remains a boy, while Sonya is wrestling with a difficult estate and is still deeply and hopelessly in love with the local doctor as she was all those years ago. Twenty years after their original plays and in their middle age they find a comfortable anticipation in their encounter. There is promise in their meeting, until their stories unfold and the glow of their fantasies makes way for reality.

AFTERPLAY stars Dermot Crowley (The Weir) as "Andrey" and Dearbhla Molloy (Dancing at Lughnasa) as "Sonya".

AFTERPLAY features scenic design by Tony Award winner John Lee Beatty (The Nance), costume design by Fabio Toblini (Batboy The Musical), lighting design by Michael Gottlieb (Lysistrata Jones), and sound design by M. Florian Staab (Shining City).

The performance schedule for AFTERPLAY is as follows: Tuesdays at 7pm; Wednesdays at 3pm and 8pm; Thursdays at 7pm; Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm; and Sundays at 3pm. Exceptions: there will be no 3pm performance on Saturday, September 24.

Tickets to AFTERPLAY are priced at $50.00 and are on sale now through Irish Rep's box office by calling 212-727-2737, or online at www.irishrep.org. For more information about Irish Repertory Theatre visit www.irishrep.org.

IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE, co-founded by Producing Director Ciarán O'Reilly and Artistic Director Charlotte Moore, opened its doors in September 1988 with Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars. The Irish Rep is currently the only year-round theatre company in New York City devoted to bringing Irish and Irish American works to the stage. Recognized with the Jujamcyn Theatres Award, a special Drama Desk Award for "Excellence in Presenting Distinguished Irish Drama," an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Achievement, and the Lucille Lortel Award for "Outstanding Body of Work," the Irish Rep has celebrated the very best in Irish theatre for over twenty-five years, from the masters to the new generation of Irish and Irish American writers who are transforming the stage. Nearly 38,000 audience members annually attend productions at our theatre located in the heart of New York's Off Broadway community. Once here, they witness the Irish Rep's engaging perspective on the Irish and their unique contributions to the world of drama.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Brian Friel (Playwright) is widely recognized as one of the greatest contemporary dramatists writing in the English language. A prolific writer, who produced more than 30 plays in a career spanning six decades, his best-known works were Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1964), The Freedom of the City (1973), Aristocrats (1979) Faith Healer (1979), Translations (1980) Dancing at Lughnasa (1990) Molly Sweeney (1993), Give Me Your Answer Do (1997) and The Home Place (2005). In these and other plays he showed a fascination with pushing the boundaries of theatrical possibility. Friel once wrote: "For me the true gift of theatre, the real benediction of all art, is the ringing bell which reverberates quietly and persistently in the head long after the curtain has come down and the audience has gone home."

Joe Dowling (Director) Joe Dowling joined The Abbey Theatre in 1967 as a member of the Acting Company. In 1970 he co-founded The Young Abbey, Ireland's first theatre-in-education group, and three years later he became artistic director of the Peacock Theatre. In 1976 he was appointed artistic director of the national touring company, the Irish Theatre Company. He became the youngest-ever Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre in 1978. His tenure is particularly remembered for the encouragement and development of new plays and young playwrights. After leaving the Abbey in 1985, Joe became Managing and Artistic Director of The Gaiety Theatre. In 1986, he founded and was the first director of The Gaiety School of Acting, In 1995, he was appointed as artistic director of The Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. During his twenty years as director of this prestigious American theatre, he directed more than 50 productions, including the American premiere of Brian Friel's The Home Place in 2007, and his signature production of A Midsummer Night's Dream presented in 1997, 2008 and 2015. In 2009 Joe both directed and starred in Brian Friel's play Faith Healer. His final production at The Guthrie in June 2015 was Sean O Casey's Juno and the Paycock starring Anita Reeves, Stephen Brennan and Dearbhla Molloy. Under Joe's leadership, in June 2006 the Guthrie Theater opened its new three theatre complex on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This complex, which Time Magazine called "a 21st-century dream factory", has allowed the Guthrie to broaden its repertoire and provide audiences with a range of presentations in all three dynamic spaces. The potential of the new complex was fully realized with the Tony Kushner Celebration, for which all three theatres were devoted to the works of Kushner, including a Guthrie-commissioned new play, Kushner's first since 2002. Joe holds an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the National University of Ireland as well as Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters from The University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, St. Johns University in Collegeville, Minnesota, St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Gonzaga University, Washington. Among his numerous other awards Mr. Dowling is the recipient of the 2006 Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Vision.

Dermot Crowley (Andrey) Dermot's first Broadway role was in Conor McPherson's The Weir at The Walter Kerr Theatre, before going on to star in Brian Friel's Translations at the Biltmore, and in Juno at City Center. He was awarded the Los Angeles Critics award for his performance in the US tour of The Cripple of Inismaan. Other US theatre includes Two Men of Florence (Huntington, Boston); Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theatre, Princeton); Dealer's Choice (Manhattan Theatre Club, New York); and Give Me Your Hand, which he and Dearbhla Molloy devised and co-starred in at the Irish Rep (Drama Desk nomination). His extensive career also includes leading roles with the National Theatre in London, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Abbey Theatre Dublin, as well as numerous appearances in the London's West End. On television he has played Schenk, (Idris Elba's steely boss) for four seasons in BBC America's hit series "Luther," as well as starring roles in "Hunted," "Borgia," "Foyle's War," "MidSomer Murders, "Bleak House," "MI5,?"Dead Gorgeous, "Rebel Heart," "Falling for a Dancer," "Father Ted," "Jonathan Creek," ?and "Poirot." He has just finished filming Armando Iannucci's new film, The Death of Stalin, and Martin Campbell's movie The Foreigner. Other films include Masaryk, The Lady in the Van, Mrs Brown's Boys D'Movie, Deception, Holy Water, Babel, Before you Go, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Octopussy, Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi, and Giro City.

Dearbhla Molloy (Sonya) has worked consistently in theatre, film, and television for over 40 years, on Broadway, the West End and with Britain's National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. She is an Associate Artist of Ireland's Abbey Theatre. Her first Broadway appearance was in Dancing at Lughnasa, for which she received a Tony nomination, followed by A Touch of the Poet (Studio 54) and most recently Outside Mullingar. Other New York credits include Juno and the Paycock (Roundabout) and The Cripple of Irishmaan (Atlantic). She and Dermot Crowley recently starred in Give Me Your Hand for the Irish Rep. She has played Beatrice in Much Ado for the Guthrie (Minneapolis) and earlier in the year appeared in Memory for Studio Theatre (Washington). Among extensive West End credits are In Celebration (Duke of York), Arcadia (Haymarket), Juno and the Paycock (Donmar), Ditch (Old Vic Tunnels), Doubt (Tricycle). She has just returned from the Ulysses Festival in Croatia with Ralph Fiennes' Richard 3, playing the Duchess of York. TV: "Midsomer Murders," "Foyle's War," "Waking the Dead," "New Tricks," "55 Degrees North," "Stan," "Touch of Frost," "Sex and the City," "The Fragile Heart," and most recently as the Queen in the recent season's opening episode of "Scandal." Film: The Damned United, No Reservations, Tara Road, The Blackwater Lightship, Ulysses, Run of the Country, Loaded, 3096. Awards include two Drama Desk Awards, Theatre World Special Award, London Critics Award, two Irish Theatre Awards, and an Audie Award. Other nominations include a Royal Television Society Award, Independent Film and Television Award, Irish Theatre Award, Drama Desk Award, and a Grammy Award.

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