Photo Flash: First Look at Burning Coal's SHINING CITY, Opening Tonight, 11/1

Burning Coal Theatre Company will present Conor McPherson's Shining City tonight, November 1 – 18, 2012. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm at the Murphey School, 224 Polk Street, Raleigh, NC. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!

Ian was in the seminary, but left following a crises of faith. After graduating from college, he has opened a psychotherapy practice in a recently gentrified section of Dublin. His first client, John, runs a small business. He brings a terrifying story with him. He also brings something more, a haunting tale that will alter both men's lives forever, and force them to lift the veil of self-deception and acknowledge who and what they really are.

Conor McPherson is a playwright and screenwriter from Dublin, Ireland. He is the author of The Weir, The Seafarer, St. Nicholas (all of which Burning Coal has produced in the last fifteen years), along with Rum & Vodka, The Bicycle Thief, Port Authority and the recent The Veil (Royal National Theatre, London).

James Anderson of Raleigh will play Ian. James recently appeared at Burning Coal in Brigadoon. Other Burning Coal work includes Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, along with Man of La Mancha, The Shape of the Table and The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer. He understudied the title role in Richard III at NYC's Pearl Theatre. John Allore of Chapel Hill will play John. Allore recently appeared at Burning Coal in Enron, Jude the Obscure, Parts 1 & 2 and Blue. He appeared in PlayMakers Repertory Company's Henriad. Laura Tratnik of Asheville, NC will play Neama. Laura is originally from Berlin, Germany. She was a member of the legendary Berliner Ensemble and the Schaubühne. She has worked with Robert Wilson, Katie Mitchell and others. Nic Carter of Raleigh rounds out the cast. Nic understudied several roles in Burning Coal's recent Jude the Obscure, Parts 1 & 2.

Burning Coal Theatre Company is one of Raleigh's small, professional theatres. Burning Coal is an incorporated, non-profit [501 (c) (3)] organization. Burning Coal's mission is to produce literate, visceral, affecting theatre that is experienced, not simply seen. Burning Coal produces explosive reexaminations of overlooked classic and modern plays, as well as new plays, whose themes and issues are of immediate concern to our audience, using the best local, national and International Artists available. We work toward a theatre of high-energy performances and minimalist production values. The emphasis is on literate works that are felt and experienced viscerally, unlike more traditional linear plays, at which audiences are most often asked to observe without participating. Race and gender non-specific casting is an integral component of our perspective, as well as an international viewpoint.

Tickets are $20 or $15 for students, seniors and active military, or $10 on Thursday nights. Friday, November 2nd is our Gala (free food!) and Sunday, November 4 is Pay What You Can Day. Reservations are available at 919-834-4001 or by visiting www.burningcoal.org.

Photo Credit: Right Image Photography, Inc.

John Allore

John Allore and James Anderson

Laura Tratnik and James Anderson

Laura Tratnik