John Cullum to Lead Irish Rep's THE BURIAL AT THEBES, by Seamus Heaney

The Irish Repertory Theatre (Charlotte Moore, Artistic Director and Ciarán O'Reilly, Producing Director) announces 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 star two-time Tony Award winner John Cullum as Creon, The King of Thebes, making this the second time this season that Mr. Cullum will have worked with Ms. Moore at the Irish Rep (following his appearance in upcoming production of A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES).

THE BURIAL AT THEBES will be performed Thursday, January 14 - Sunday, March 6th.2016. Opening Night is scheduled for Sunday, January 24, 2016. Tickets are now on sale via 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 remainder of the cast of THE BURIAL AT THEBES will be announced shortly.

THE BURIAL AT THEBES has scenic design by James Morgan; costume design by Linda Fisher; lighting design by Brian Nason.

John Cullum's long and distinguished career on stage and screen includes performances in such legendary shows as Camelot, Hamlet (opposite Richard Burton, directed by Sir John Gielgud), On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (Tony nomination), Man of La Mancha, 1776, Shenandoah (Tony Award), On the Twentieth Century (Tony Award), Deathtrap, The Boys in Autumn (opposite George C. Scott), Aspects of Love, Show Boat, Urinetown (Tony nomination), 110 in the Shade (Tony nomination), Cymbeline (Lincoln Center), August: Osage County, The Scottsboro Boys and Casa Valentina. His films include: All the Way Home, Richard Burton's Hamlet, Hawaii, 1776, The Prodigal, Sweet Country (with Jane Alexander), Ricochet River (with Kate Hudson), Inherit the Wind (starring George C. Scott and Jack Lemmon), Held Up (starring Jamie Foxx) and the award-winning, two-character short film Blackwater Elegy (with Barry Corbin). He also starred in and wrote the screenplay for the dark comedy The Secret Life of Algernon, which co-starred Charles Durning and Carrie Anne Moss. His numerous television credits include "The Middle," "E.R.," "Northern Exposure" (six seasons, Emmy nomination), In 2007, Mr. Cullum was named to the Theater Hall of Fame in 2007 and recently, the Chernuchin Theatre (Inside the American Theatre of Actors), was renamed in his honor.

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 directing credits include Da, A Christmas Memory, Donnybrook, and New Girl in Town. She has directed many of the late Brian Friel's plays including Dancing at Lughnasa, Aristocrats, Molly Sweeny, and Making History. She has directed The Irish Repertory Theatre's Broadway concert productions of Finian's Rainbow; Oliver, Oliver!; Camelot; Brigadoon; and the 2015 Yeats Centenary Event, Yeats On Broadway at The Town Hall. Ms Moore was named "Director of the Year" by The Wall Street Journal in 2014, and is being honored by Lincoln Center's "Women in Theatre" award.

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 14th - Sunday, March 6th 2016 The Press Opening is scheduled for Thursday, Ja. 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 now on sale at 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

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