Inis Nua Theatre will present the American Premiere of A HOLY SHOW by up-and coming Irish playwright Janet Moran. The Irish phrase "a holy show" means to embarrass or make a spectacle of oneself, the perfect title for this whirlwind comedy based on the true story of a disgraced Australian monk who hijacked a passenger jet using nothing but holy water. A HOLY SHOW takes place in 1981 as Aer Lingus flight 164 to London is about to board. We meet passengers like Tina and Joe who are on their honeymoon, Bun who is off to meet her new granddaughter, Mary who is nervously flying for the first time, and Downey who is on a mission to learn the Third Secret of Fatima at any cost. The production will be directed by Barrymore Award-nominated director and Inis Nua Founder and Artistic Director Tom Reing. Previews begin Wednesday, October 6, with opening night on Friday, October 8. The show runs through October 24, 2021 for a total of 15 performances. All performances will take place at the Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake, 302 South Hicks Street. Tickets are $15 - $30. For reservations, visit inisnuatheatre.org.
A HOLY SHOW first premiered in 2018 as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival directed by its writer,
Janet Moran. It played a sell-out run at the Peacock Theatre of the world renown Abbey Theatre before transferring to Edinburgh Fringe, CCI Paris, and completing a sold out Irish National tour in 2020, again directed by Moran. A HOLY SHOW was also adapted for RTE Radio Drama on One. Inis Nua is excited to bring A HOLY SHOW to Philadelphia audiences for our first live show in 19 months.
The Edinburgh Reporter said of the A HOLY SHOW's 2019 Fringe run "this is a very funny script that really really entertained the audience who lapped up this original piece of work." The List called it a "gloriously comic and unexpectedly thoughtful show....A Holy Show is, among other things, a time capsule of an earlier Ireland, that illuminates the distance between the past and its certainties, and the uncertain present," comparing it to the real event on the Aer Lingus flight it depicts, they say "it carries you off to places you didn't think it would go." The Irish Times said the play "seizes every opportunity for embellishment, from earthy comic turns to absurd religious visitations."
A HOLY SHOW brings not only humor to a dramatic event, but also gives light to humanity in the face of grave danger. It tells both the real and imagined stories of people on Flight 164. Passenger by passenger, a cast of travelers entertain with bits of their life stories. Once former monk, Laurence Downey, reveals his plan to take over the plane as leverage to discover the truth to a religious fable, everyone on the flight is taken along for the ride. The pilots, flight attendants, and passengers begin to discover what is happening and each undergoes the unexpected turn from a perfectly normal flight to a moment when they must face their own mortality. Amidst the chaos they pause to consider what matters most in that moment and how they want to live their lives going forward. The play invites the audience to do the same, while enjoying a good laugh, of course. Founder and Artistic Director Tom Reing is excited that Inis Nua is presenting this play as an American Premiere, saying, "This comedy shows off the best Irish Theatre can offer. Not taking yourself too seriously. And this really happened!"
Reing's familiarity with Moran's work piqued his interest in the A HOLY SHOW. "Playwright
Janet Moran is a good friend who I met at the Corn Exchange Theatre in Dublin," adding after seeing the play's original Fringe production, "I could see that company's influence in the style of A Holy Show."
The production casts the play's two performers in more than 20 different characters. The range of distinct and sometimes rapidly shifting characters poses a particular challenge.
Rachel Brodeur rose to a similar challenge in Inis Nua's 2019 production of BOX CLEVER.
Liam Mulshine's background in Commedia dell'arte and improv help in his work on the almost clown-like nature of this script. The production warrants a Movement Director-Dan Higbee-who will help bring uniqueness to the physical performance of each of the many characters including, of course, the Virgin Mary herself.
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