Cast Set For THE BRIGHTENING AIR at the Old Vic

The Old Vic has announced the full cast of Conor McPherson’s new play The Brightening Air.

Dermot (Chris O’Dowd) returns home to County Sligo with hidden aims. His siblings (Brian Gleeson and Rosie Sheehy) are desperate to hold on to the family home but with an ex-clergyman uncle and sister-in-law (played by Seán McGinley and Hannah Morrish respectively) looking for their own answers, plans soon go awry.

A world premiere from Olivier Award-winning writer and director Conor McPherson (The Weir, Girl from the North Country), The Brightening Air is an entrancing tale of fate, family and unseen forces in 1980s Ireland. 

The full cast announced today includes Derbhle Crotty (Portia Coughlan), Eimhin Fitzgerald Doherty (Juno and the Paycock), Brian Gleeson (Bad Sisters), Aisling Kearns (Juno and the Paycock), Seán McGinley (A Whistle in the Dark), Hannah Morrish (The Merchant of Venice 1936), Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) and Rosie Sheehy (Machinal). They are joined by understudies Ella Maria Carmen, Callum Cronin, Joseph McCarthy and Amy Vicary-Smith.

The creative team is Set & Costume by Rae Smith, Lighting by Mark Henderson, Sound by Gregory Clarke, Movement & Intimacy by Lucy Hind, Casting by Serena Hill CDG, Voice by Charlie Hughes-D’Aeth, Dialect by Danièle Lydon and Fights by Kate Waters. The Associate Director is Anastasia Osei-Kuffour, Associate Set is Niall McKeever, the Costume Supervisor is Poppy Hall, the Props Supervisor is Fahmida Bakht and the Music Associate is Benjamin McQuigg.

The Brightening Air is at The Old Vic from 10 April to 14 June 2025, with press night on Thursday 24 April. Tickets are on sale now.

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