SpeakEasy Stage
Presents
McPherson’s “Seafarer”

SpeakEasy Stage will present the Boston area premiere of Conor McPherson’s “The Seafarer” from November 14 - December 13 at The Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End.

A 2008 Tony Award Nominee for Best Play, this humorous but chilling story of redemption begins on Christmas Eve in North Dublin. Sharky Harkin finds himself reluctantly hosting old friends at the rundown house he shares with his older brother. Booze and card-playing carry the men into Christmas Day, when Sharky must face a grim promise he made decades before.

“The Seafarer” is the latest work by Conor McPherson, a Dublin-born writer and director hailed by many as one of Ireland’s most prominent contemporary playwrights. Among his many plays are “This Lime Tree Bower,” “St. Nicholas,“ “The Weir“ (for which he won an Olivier Award), “Dublin Carol,“ and “Shining City.“

Two time Elliot Norton Award-winning director Carmel O’Reilly will direct the production, her first such effort for SpeakEasy Stage. As the Artistic Director of The Súgán Theatre, Ms. O’Reilly introduced Boston audiences to McPherson’s work with her acclaimed production of “St. Nicholas” in 1999.

For "The Seafarer,” Ms. O’Reilly has rounded up three frequent collaborators -- actors Billy Meleady, Ciaran Crawford and Derry Woodhouse -- and paired them with two of Boston’s superior talents -- Larry Coen, winner of 2007 Elliott Norton Award (Outstanding Actor), and Bob Colonna, who recently appeared as “Hector” in SpeakEasy’s production of “The History Boys.”

“The Seafarer” was first performed in 2006 at London's National Theatre under the direction of the playwright. The production received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Play, and earned an Olivier Award for actor Jim Norton, who played Richard, the blind older brother.

Mr. Norton and Conleth Hill who played Ivan, were the only two members of the original cast who moved with the play to Broadway where it opened at the Booth Theatre on December 6, 2007, and ran thru this past March. Actor David Morse (a native of Hamilton, Massachusetts, and perhaps known best locally for his work on TV’s Boston-based medical drama “St. Elsewhere”) took over the lead of Sharky Harkin for this production.

The New York production received several 2008 Tony Award nominations, including: Best Play, two for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play (Conleth Hill; Jim Norton), and Best Director of a Play (Conor McPherson). In May, 2008, the play opened in Ireland at Dublin's Abbey Theatre.

Born in Dublin in 1971, Conor McPherson attended University College Dublin where he began to write and direct. Among his many plays are “Rum and Vodka,” “The Good Thief,” “This Lime Tree Bower,” “St. Nicholas,” “The Weir (Olivier Award Best Play), “Dublin Carol,” “Port Authority” and “Shining City” (Tony nomination, Best Play). Alongside many productions of his own plays, other work as a director includes Billy Roche’s “Poor Beast in the Rain” (Gate Theatre, Dublin) and Eugene O’Brien’s “Eden” (Abbey Theatre, Dublin and West End). For television, he directed Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame” starring Sir Michael Gambon. Screenplays include “I Went Down” (Best Screenplay Award, San Sebastian Film Festival), “Saltwater” (CICAE Award Best Film, Berlin Film Festival) and “The Actors." Other awards for his work include the Evening Standard Award, Critics Circle Award and two Irish Film and Television Academy Best Screenplay Awards.

Carmel O’Reilly appeared in the Súgán/SpeakEasy co-production of “A Man of No Importance” in October of 2003. She is founder and Artistic Director of the Súgán Theatre Company, for which she directed the Elliot Norton award-winning productions of “The Sanctuary Lamp” (2005) and “St Nicholas” (2000). She is also a two-time winner (2001, 2002) of the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director. Recently, Carmel directed Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” for Harvard University, Heather Raffo’s “9 Parts of Desire” for both the Lyric Stage and the Kitchen Theatre (Ithaca, NY), and Oscar Wilde’s “Lady Windermere’s Fan” for Emerson Stage. In the spring, Carmel will direct a new play, “Trojan Barbie” by Christine Evans, for the American Repertory Theatre. A native of Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, Carmel is a graduate of Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

For information, call 617-933-8600 or visit www.BostonTheatreScene.com.

-- OnStage Boston