DANCING AT LUGHNASA Opens At The Old Vic On 3/5

Brian
 Friel's
 Olivier 
award-winning
 play
 Dancing
 at
 Lughnasa 
opens 
at 
The 
Old 
Vic
 on 
Thursday 
5 
March 
2009, 
with 
previews 
from
 26 
February. 
Anna 
Mackmin 
will 
direct 
an 
accomplished
 cast 
including 
Andrea 
Corr
in
 her
 stage
 debut,
 as
 well
 as
 Niamh
 Cusack,
 Michelle
 Fairley,
 Simone
 Kirby,
 Finbar
 Lynch,
 Susan
 Lynch,
Peter 
McDonald 
and 
Jo
Stone-Fewings.


 A 
bitter sweet
 reflection 
of 
rural
 Ireland
on 
the 
brink 
of 
industrialization
in 
the 
1930s,
 Friel's
 passionate 
portrait 
of 
the 
five 
unmarried 
Mundy 
sisters 
follows 
their 
loss 
of 
love 
and 
opportunity 
played 
out
against 
the 
echoes 
of 
the 
twentieth 
century 
with 
dark 
humor,
 raw
 energy 
and 
tenderness.



First 
performed
 at 
the
 Abbey 
Theatre
 in 
Dublin 
in 
April 
1990, 
Friel's
 Dancing
 at
 Lughnasa 
premiered 
in 
the 
UK 
at 
the 
National 
Theatre 
in
October 
1990 
before 
opening 
in 
the 
West 
End 
and 
on 
Broadway 
in 
1991.
 The 
West 
End 
production 
won 
both 
the
Olivier 
Award 
for 
Best 
New 
Play 
and 
the 
Evening 
Standard 
Award 
for 
Best 
Play 
in 
the 
same 
year 
and 
on 
Broadway 
the 
production 
won 
a
 Tony 
Award 
in 
1992. 

In 
1998,
 Dancing
 at
 Lughnasa 
was 
adapted 
as 
a
 film 
starring 
Meryl 
Streep 
and
 Michael 
Gambon. 

Brian
 Friel
 is 
one
 of 
Ireland's 
most
 prolific 
and 
distinguished
 playwrights.
 His 
plays 
deal 
with 
identity, 
human 
communication
 and
 the 
notion 
of 
truth.


Previous 
credits 
include
 Aristocrats 
(Evening
 Standard 
Award 
for 
Best
 Play
 and 
a 
New 
York 
Drama 
Critics 
Circle 
Award
 for 
Best 
Foreign 
Play),
 Molly 
Sweeney 
(New 
York 
Drama 
Critics 
Circle 
Award
 for 
Best 
Foreign 
Play),
 Philadelphia
 Here 
I 
Come,
 Translations 
(awarded 
the 
Ewart-Biggs 
Peace 
Prize)
and
 Faith 
Healer.




Andrea 
Corr
(Chris)
is 
best 
known 
as 
a 
singer 
with 
her
internationally
 acclaimed 
band
 The 
Corrs. 

She 
made 
her
acting 
debut 
in 
Alan 
Parker's 
award-winning 
film.
 The
Commitments 
and 
went 
on 
to 
appear 
in 
films 
including
 Evita, 
The
 Boys 
From 
County 
Clare,
 The 
Bridge 
and
 The
Thread.
 Dancing 
at 
Lughnasa 
marks 
her 
stage 
debut.






 Niamh
 Cusack
 (Maggie)
is
 a 
highly 
accomplished
 actress 
who 
has
worked 
extensively 
in 
theatre 
and 
television. 

Her
many
theatre 
credits 
include 
Sir 
Peter 
Hall's
 Portrait 
Of 
A 
Lady 
at 
the 
Theatre 
Royal 
Bath,
 The 
Enchantment 
at 
the
 National
 Theatre,
 Breathing
 Corpses 
 at
 the
 Royal
 Court
 and
 Nicholas
 Hytner's
 His
 Dark
 Materials 
 at
 the 
National
Theatre. 

Her 
television
 credits
 include
 ITV's
 Fallen 
Angel 
with 
Emilia
 Fox,
 The 
Last 
Detective 
with
 Peter 
Davison 
and
the 
hugely
 popular
 drama
 series
 Heartbeat. 

Niamh 
has 
also
appeared
 in 
a 
number 
of 
films
-
 The 
Closer 
You 
Get,
 Playboys 
and
 Shadow 
Under 
The 
Sun. 

Michelle 
Fairley 
(Kate)
was 
recently 
seen 
in 
BBC 
One's 
critically 
acclaimed
 drama
 Lark 
Rise 
To 
Candleford. 
She 
has 
also 
appeared
 in 
Jimmy
McGovern's
 The 
Street,
 Strictly
 Confidential, 
Lynda 
La
Plante's
 Trial 
And 
Retribution 
and
 The 
Catherine 
Tate 
Show.
 Michelle 
can 
be 
seen 
in 
the 
BBC's
 forthcoming
 A 
Short 
Stay 
In 
Switzerland. 

Her 
film
 credits
 include
 The
Duel,
 The 
Others 
and
 Hideous
 Kinky. 
On 
stage 
she 
has
appeared 
in
 Othello 
at 
the 
Donmar 
Warehouse,
 Macbeth 
at 
the 
West 
Yorkshire 
Playhouse,
 Gates 
of 
Gold 
at 
the
Trafalgar 
Studios 
and
 Loyal 
Women 
at 
the 
Royal 
Court.



Simone
 Kirby
 (Rose)
 has
 most
 recently
 appeared
 in
 Cat
 On
 A
Hot 
Tin 
Roof
 at
 the
 Corn
 Exchange
 and
 The 
Taming 
Of 
The
Shrew. 
Other 
stage 
credits 
include
 Falling
 Out
 of 
Love,
 The
 Cavalcaders,
 Don
 Carlos 
and
 The 
School
 For 
Scandal. 

Simone 
also 
appeared 
in 
the
 recent 
RTE/Touch paper
television
 production
 Single
 Handed
 2: 
The
 Stolen 
Child.

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