The Irish Arts & Letters Festival at Fairfield University presents the first of its two dramatic readings, "By the Bog of Cats," on Thursday and Friday, March 2 and 3, at 8 p.m. in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.
Written by Marina Carr and directed by Margaret Whitton, the play (which premiered at Dublin's Abby Theatre in 1998) deals with the snow-covered Bog of Cats which is home to Hester Swane, her husband and daughter, but ghosted by the memory of her mother. Filled with spirits and hauntings, the harsh landscape reflects the lives of its inhabitants as Hester awaits her mother's return in an Eden turned cold.
Playwright Marina Carr was awarded the Susan Blackburn Prize and was nominated for the Writer's Guild Award for Best West End Play. Her play, "The Mai," was awarded best new play at the 1994 Dublin Theatre Festival.
Margaret Whitton recently made her directorial debut with Marina Carr's play "Portia Coughlan." In a career that spans stage, film and television, Whitton (also an actor) has played glamorous leading ladies and quirky outsiders, creating a remarkable range of both dramatic and comedic characters.
Several well-known actors will read the 14 roles in the play, among them: Betty Miller, Sloan Shelton, James Noble (best known for portraying the governor in the television show "Benson"), Joseph Swain, Matt Osian, Amy Redford, Stephen Cabis, Jennifer Sternberg and Nina Landry. The role of the little girl, yet to be cast, will be played by a local lass chosen after auditions at Fairfield's Gaelic-American Club.
The Irish Festival is sponsored in part by: The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management in conjunction with the Connecticut Commission on the Arts; Fairfield University's College of Arts & Sciences Humanities Institute; the American Ireland Fund; the Kevin Conlisk family; and, the Wild Geese, an Irish-American organization based in Greenwich.
Tickets for this event are $5. For more information call the box office at (203) 254-4010 or toll-free at 1-877-ARTS-396.
Posted On: 02-15-2000 09:02 AM
Volume: 32 Number: 168