Irish Tour Nov. 12 – Dec. 19
The NASC touring network presents Druid’s sell-out hit of this year’s Galway Arts Festival -The Gigli Concert by Tom Murphy – a searching, challenging and funny story of hope and possibility and above all the endurance of the human spirit. This Druid production will embark on an extensive tour of Ireland between November 12th and December 19th playing in Letterkenny, Tralee, Longford, Portlaoise, Dún Laoghaire and Ennis.
Described as “one of the greatest Irish plays of the century” (The Irish Times), The Gigli Concert is a play that perhaps speaks even more to the Ireland of today than it did when first staged in 1983. JPW King is a quack self-help therapist who whiles away his days with little more than a bottle of vodka, a pot of jam and occasional visits from his lover Mona. When the mysterious Irishman, a despairing property developer, walks through his door and wants to sing like the great Italian opera singer Beniamino Gigli, both men embark on a journey that reaches heights they could never have imagined.
Widely regarded as Tom Murphy’s masterpiece, Druid’s production of The Gigli Concert unveiled the newly refurbished Druid Lane Theatre in July 2009 and subsequently played to critical acclaim at the Everyman Palace Cork and the Town Hall Theatre Galway. Artistic Director Garry Hynes commented that “I am so pleased to be on the road again with a Tom Murphy play and looking forward to welcoming our audiences all over Ireland to this production.”
Derbhle Crotty, winner of the Best Actress Award at the 2008 Irish Times Theatre Awards, and Mark Lambert, making his Druid debut, join existing cast members Denis Conway and Peter Sullivan for this tour. Mark Lambert previously played the role of JPW King when The Gigli Concert was last staged by the Abbey in 2004. For this tour the role of JPW King will be played by Mark Lambert in Tralee and shared by Mark Lambert and Peter Sullivan in Dún Laoghaire. Peter Sullivan will play the role at all other venues.
In addition to this regional Irish tour of The Gigli Concert, Druid is also on tour overseas with two coast to coast tours of America of award-winning Enda Walsh productions, The Walworth Farce and The New Electric Ballroom. November 12th sees Druid stage productions in three cities on the same night- Los Angeles, New York and Letterkenny demonstrating Druid’s commitment to bringing world-class theatre to audiences both at home and abroad.
Druid acknowledges the financial support of The Arts Council in making this production possible.
‘Druid’s production….is a celebration of theatre’ The Irish Times
‘This is a play that challenges and rewards its audience, and Druid’s production does it justice’ Irish Independent
‘Garry Hynes has made it perhaps even more extraordinarily resonant and powerful than it was when originally seen in 1983’ Sunday Independent
“not just a play for our time…a play for all time”
Sunday Business Post