MARRIED TO THE SEA 

by Shona McCarthy

“*****, a beautiful, lyrical and haunting fable of loss….utterly compelling and often very funny…go see it”. – 5 STARS – IRISH TIMES

“McCarthy’s words are poetic without being sentimental, evocative without being nostalgic.” – Harvey O’Brien, IRISH THEATRE MAGAZINE

“A gem of a play…captivating throughout” - SUNDAY TRIBUNE

“Dragonfly’s new play is one of the most genuinely lyrical and evocative new plays to be unveiled by an Irish theater company in years…Married to the Sea announces them as the most interesting theater company to have emerged in Ireland in decades.” – Cahir O’Doherty, IRISH VOICE, NEW YORK

“*****, a play of great subtlety…a lovely wistful play.” – 5 STARS - BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE

“****, Married to the Sea is a brilliant affirmation of the power of good story simply told.”  SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

“*****, nothing short of spellbinding…this is an exceptional piece of theatre that should not be missed” – THREE WEEKS, EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL

“This story of magic, the death of dreams and growing up, was most beautifully executed by this fledgling company” – Judy Murphy, THEATRICAL HITS, ARTSWEEK


  • Writer & Director: Shona McCarthy
  • Cast: Fiachra O Dubhghaill, Siobhán Donnellan, Carla Bredin
  • Synopsis: Married to the Sea tells the story of Jo and Galway’s Old Claddagh sea-faring community. Jo is an eight year old girl with a special gift. On the mysterious disappearance of her father, she must contend with an unwelcome intruder in her household and her family’s secret past begins to unravel.

History: 

  • Married to the Sea was first staged in Galway’s Town Hall Theatre in 2006.
  • It was subsequently selected for the New York Fringe Festival and Dublin Fringe Festivals in 2007, winning the Outstanding Actor Award and Fishamble Best New Writing Award, respectively.
  • It was then selected for the Galway Arts Festival 2008 where it enjoyed a sell out run before being staged in the Assembly Rooms at Edinburgh Fringe 2008, with the support of Culture Ireland, where it was nominated for the Holden Street Theatre Award.
  • It subsequently enjoyed a national tour of Ireland in autumn 2008.

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REPTILIAN

by Shona McCarthy

“****, a surreal exploration of familial dysfunction which constantly surprises…is full of suspense and revelations…is stylised and poetic…this story is vividly original…excellent performances…RECOMMENDED.” – 4 STARS – IRISH TIMES

“Another kind of intensity…as black as night…McCarthy’s writing has wild imagining and clever execution.” – SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

 

  • Writer & Director: Shona McCarthy
  • Cast: Fiachra O Dubhghaill, Paul Nolan, Siobhán Donnellan, Carla Bredin
  • Synopsis: Dorothy believes her 63rd birthday will mirror every other day: cleaning the house and reciting poetry to her beloved turtles while her husband Richard works late with his young secretary and her son avoids the ruthless ‘Ten Toke Tony’. Past and present events however collide with catastrophic consequences for everyone, even the turtles.

History:

  • Reptilian premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival 2008 with The Irish Times describing it as.  ‘a surreal exploration of familial dysfunction which constantly surprises’
  • Reptilian was then selected for the Galway Arts Festival in July 2009 where it enjoyed a sell out run

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CHASING BUTTERFLIES

by Siobhán Donnellan

‘A great story well told…evocative and bittersweer…wonderfully emotive script…excellent performances…delicately balanced between hysteria and awe…Chasing Butterflies introduces a brave and challenging new voice in Irish playwriting’ – IRISH THEATRE MAGAZINE

 “Donnellan’s play gives powerful glimpses into this unconceivable pain, effectively conveyed by tender and devastating performances by Martin Maguire and Donnellan herself…Donnellan’s might as a writer lies in her articulation of the dalliances of temporary lives’  WWW.MUSINGSININTERMISSIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM

  •  Writer: Siobhán Donnellan
  • Director: Aoife Connolly (Bluepatch Productions)
  • Cast: Fiachra O Dubhghaill, Martin Maguire, Siobhán Donnellan
  • Synopsis: Chasing Butterflies tells the story of two parents recalling the night each of them lost a child; one to death, the other to darkness.

Chasing ButterfliesHistory:

  • Chasing Butterflies (one-act) was first staged in Cork Writers Week 2010, where it was shortlisted for the Writers Week Award and won three production awards:
  • Best Director (Aoife Connolly), Best Actress (Siobhán Donnellan) and Best Actor (Martin McGuire) as well as receiving nominations for Best Actor (Fiachra  O Dubhghaill).
  • Most recently, Chasing Butterflies was performed as part of Galway Theatre Festival 2011.

 

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IN THE GARDEN

by Siobhán Donnellan

‘Again, Donnellan charmingly skips down the dark path…Donnellan and Ben Mulhern deserve mentions for their quirky but human performances…[Aoife] Connolly continues to be a stand-out director at Galway Theatre Festival, spelling out performance spaces where nuances are to be cherry-picked, deconstructed, and re-rendered in the spectator’s own theatre experience.”.”’  WWW.MUSINGSININTERMISSIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM

  • Writer: Siobhán Donnellan
  • Director: Aoife Connolly (Bluepatch Productions)
  • Cast: Ben Mulhern, Siobhán Donnellan
  • Synopsis: In the Garden tells of life, death and everyone in between through the eyes of two lost souls caught between this world and the next.

History:

In the Garden (one-act)  received its world premiere at the Galway Theatre Festival 2011.

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Heidi and the Bear

A site specific piece of theatre devised for the Absolut Fringe 2011

Synopsis:  ‘Heidi and the Bear’ is a dark psychosexual thriller about a girl in trouble who seeks help from a family. But they decide to keep her. An intimate fairytale exploring grief’s toll on a family, ‘Heidi and the Bear’ is a reminder of how we sometimes unwittingly destroy what we love the most. Roam through the Bear’s elegant house and unearth the detritus of four lives.