Inis Nua Theatre Company Launches 12th Season with Dark Comedy HOOKED! Tonight

Inis Nua Theatre Company celebrates the start of their 12th season by presenting HOOKED! by Gillian Grattan, from tonight, October 7, through October 25, 2015.

A dark comedy perfect for the Halloween season, HOOKED! brings us a pretty little village where nothing is what it seems. The gossip, secrets and scandals will have you cringing and laughing. Hooked, ensnared, trapped...trick or treat, anyone?

The show begins previews on October 7, opens on October 9, and runs for 16 performances through October 25, 2015. Times vary by performance. Hooked! is a site-specific presentation. All shows are upstairs at Fergie's Pub, 1214 Sansom Street. Tickets are on sale for $25 and $30 by calling (215) 454-9776 or visiting inisnuatheatre.org.

Inis Nua Theatre Company was merrily on the way to its new home at The Drake (1512 Spruce Street), when a shadowy figure beckoned from an old pub doorway down a side street. Fergus Carey, owner of Fergie's and a devoted supporter of the arts, reached out with an offer that Artistic Director Tom Reing couldn't refuse. Not only did Carey introduce Reing to HOOKED! after seeing the show while in Ireland, but Carey extended the invite to host the Irish pub play. A detour was made that brings Inis Nua Theatre Company back to its roots by starting off the 2015-2016 season back where it began 12 years ago in a pub. Hooked! also has another connection that goes back over the years, as Reing and actor Charlie DelMarcelle grew up together, and Reing has directed DelMarcelle in six Inis Nua shows over the years.

The American premiere of HOOKED! is directed by Reing and stars Inis Nua newcomer Rachel Brodeur (The Captive by Philadelphia Artists' Collective, The Three Musketeers by Quintessence Theatre Group), Corinna Burns (Inis Nua's Long Live the Little Knife, The Winter's Tale by Shakespeare in Clark Park) and DelMarcelle (Barrymore-nominated for his performance in The Glass Menagerie by Act II Playhouse, Inis Nua's Midsummer [a play with songs]). The show's honorary producer is Fergus Carey.

Meghan Jones (set), Rebecca Kanach (costumes), Andrew Cowles (lights), and Toby Pettit (sound) will be placing us by a river, on a village street or in a cottage, all without leaving our cosy pub perch. Lauren Tracy is the Production Manager and Alyssa Cole is Stage Manager.

"Judge not, lest ye be judged" must never have been heard from the pulpit in the rural hamlet of HOOKED! Town stalwarts Mary and Tom welcome new neighbor Lydia, but opinionated Mary already thinks the worst of the pretty young artist. The trouble is, everybody's got something to hide in this claustrophobic village. Once the meddling starts, the results are comic, tragic...and not what you'd expect.

HOOKED! opens on Friday, October 9 at 9:00pm, with previews on Wednesday, October 7 and Thursday, October 8 at 7:00pm. Hooked! runs for a total of 16 performances, through October 25, 2015. Tickets are on sale for $25 and $30 by calling (215) 454-9776 or visiting inisnuatheatre.org. To join the conversation, like Inis Nua Theatre Company on Facebook and follow @InisNua Theatre on Twitter.

Inis Nua's mission is to produce contemporary, provocative plays from Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales which reflect those cultures' new identities in today's world. Inis Nua also seeks to cultivate and produce contemporary, provocative work from American playwrights who deal with the Irish-American, Welsh-American, Scottish-American and Anglo-American experiences.

To date, Inis Nua has produced one world premiere, nine American premieres and twelve Philadelphia premieres. Our 2015-2016 season boasts three American premieres. Inis Nua Theatre Company has been the recipient of grants from the Wyncote Foundation, the Independence Foundation, the Fels Fund, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and the Charlotte Cushman Foundation. Inis Nua Theatre has also had seven playwrights visit during production of their shows.

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