Irish Rep to Stage Seamus Heaney's THE BURIAL AT THEBES

The Irish Repertory Theatre (Charlotte Moore, Artistic Director and Ciarán O'Reilly, Producing Director) presents its first production of 2016, THE BURIAL AT THEBES written by Irish Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney, based on Sophocles' Antigone. Directed by Charlotte Moore, THE BURIAL AT THEBES will now star two-time Emmy Award-winner and Tony nominee Larry Bryggman (Proof, Picnic, "As the World Turns") as Creon, The King of Thebes (who replaces the previously announced John Cullum), and Rebekah Brockman (seen as Nettie on the acclaimed Cinemax series "The Knick") as Antigone. THE BURIAL AT THEBES will be performed Thursday, January 14 - Sunday, March 6, 2016. Opening Night is scheduled for Sunday, January 24, 2016. Tickets are on sale now through the Irish Rep box office at 212-727-2737 or online at www.irishrep.org.

Due to a theatre renovation taking place at its home base, The Irish Rep's current productions are being presented at the DR2 Theatre (103 East 15th Street in Union Square). A return to its renovated theater on West 22nd Street in Chelsea is planned for Spring 2016.

In THE BURIAL AT THEBES, Seamus Heaney uses his delicate touch to expose the darkness and the humanity in Sophocles' masterpiece, Antigone. After the War of the Seven Against Thebes, Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, learns that her brothers have killed each other, having been forced onto opposing sides of the battle. When Creon, King of Thebes, grants burial to one but not the other, Antigone defies his order, setting in action a chain of events that can only end in destruction. First written as a response to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, it stands today as a timely reminder of the conflict between the defense of state security and the protection of basic human rights.

The cast of THE BURIAL AT THEBES features Rebekah Brockman ("The Knick") as Antigone, two-time Emmy Award winner and Tony nominee Larry Bryggman (Proof, Picnic, "As the World Turns") as Creon, Ciaran Bowling as Haemon, Rod Brogan as the Messenger, OBIE Award winner Winsome Brown as Eurydice, Katie Fabel (A Child's Christmas in Wales, It's A Wonderful Life at Irish Rep) as Ismene, Colin Lane (of Lano and Woodley) as the Guard, and Robert Langdon Lloyd as Tiresias.

THE BURIAL AT THEBES has scenic design by Tony Walton; costume design by Linda Fisher; lighting design by Brian Nason; sound design by Zach Williamson, and properties by Deirdre Brennan.

Seamus Heaney (Playwright). Born in 1939 in Castledawson, County Derry, Northern Ireland, Seamus Heaney earned a teacher's certificate in English at St. Joseph's College in Belfast and in 1963 took a position as a lecturer in English at that school. While at St. Joseph's he began to write, joining a poetry workshop with Derek Mahon, Michael Longley, and others under the guidance of Philip Hobsbaum. In 1965 he married Marie Devlin, and the following year he published Death of a Naturalist. He produced numerous collections of poetry, including Human Chain (2010), District and Circle (2006), Opened Ground (1999, New York Times Notable Book of the Year), The Spirit Level (1996), Selected Poems 1966-1987 (1990), and Sweeney Astray (1983). He also wrote several volumes of criticism, including The Redress of Poetry (1995). Heaney's most recent translation was Beowulf (2000), which won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award. He is also co-translator, with Stanislaw Baranczak, of Laments: Poems of Jan Kochanowski, and co-author, with Joseph Brodsky and Derek Walcott, of a collection of essays entitled Homage to Robert Frost. In June of 2012, Heaney was awarded the Lifetime Recognition Award from the Griffin Trust For Excellence in Poetry. He was also a Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and held the chair of Professor of Poetry at Oxford from 1989 to 1994. In 1995 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Heaney was a resident of Dublin from 1976 to 2013. Beginning in 1981 he also spent part of each year teaching at Harvard University, where in 1984 he was elected the Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory. Seamus Heaney passed away at age 74 in Dublin, Ireland, on August 30, 2013.

Charlotte Moore (Director). Ms Moore's recent staging credits include Da, A Christmas Memory, Donnybrook!, It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, New Girl in Town, Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa and Molly Sweeny, A Child's Christmas in Wales, The Irish . . . And How They Got That Way, and Ernest in Love.

She has also directed The Irish Repertory Theatre's concert productions of Oliver, Oliver!! Camelot and Brigadoon on Broadway. Ms. Moore was a finalist for the 2011-2012 Joseph A. Callaway Award for excellence in the craft of directing for her work on Dancing at Lughnasa.

Co-founded by Producing Director Ciarán O'Reilly and Artistic Director Charlotte Moore, Irish Repertory Theatre 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.

THE BURIAL AT THEBES will be performed Thursday, January 14 - Sunday, March 6, 2016. The press opening is scheduled for Sunday, January 24, 2016. The performance schedule will be Tuesdays at 7pm; Wednesdays at 3pm and 8pm; Thursdays at 7pm; Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm; and Sundays at 3pm.

Tickets to THE BURIAL AT THEBES are priced at $70.00 and are on sale now through The Irish Rep box office by calling 212-727-2737, or online at www.irishrep.org.

For more information about The Irish Repertory Theatre and its upcoming 28th theater season (at the DR2 Theatre, 103 East 15th Street), call the Irish Rep box office at 212-727-2737 or visit: www.irishrep.org.

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