THE
IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE presents the
THE
BELLE OF BELFAST
By
NATE RUFUS EDELMAN
Directed
by CLAUDIA WEILL
Starring: HAMISH
ALLAN-HEADLEY, PATRICIA CONOLLY, ARIELLE HOFFMAN, KATE LYDIC, BILLY MELEADY
Creative Team:
Scenic Design:
JOHN MCDERMOTT
Costume Design:
TERESE WADDEN
Lighting Design:
JUSTIN TOWNSEND
Sound Design:
DANIEL KLUGER
Projections:
JEFF LARSON
Dialect Coach:
STEPHEN GABIS
Fight Director:
RICK SORDELET
Casting:
DEBORAH BROWN
Production Stage Manager: CHRISTINE LEMME
Assistant Stage Manager: REBECCA C. MONROE
Press Representative: COYLE ENTERTAINMENT
The Irish Reportory Theatre Company
The Season in Union Square at the DR2 Theatre
The Season in Union Square at the DR2 Theatre
103 East 15th Street
Scheduled to run through June 7th.
THE
BELLE OF BELFAST is a contemporary
work focused on the Northern Irish experience in Belfast during 1985 when the
centuries-old conflict was high between the Catholics and the Protestants and
one of the most contentious and defining conflicts of the twentieth century. However,
the story is told in a poignantly, funny way with wonderful Irish humor.
It opens in a confessional with an elderly woman,
Emma (Patricia Conolly) asking her parish priest, Father Ben Reilly (Hamish
Allan-Headley) to absolve her sins but drinking is not a sin and he sends
her away with four Hail Marys. Next, a fiery and profane young woman, Anne (Kate
Lydic) confesses her sins and then, meets up with her school mate, Ciara (Arielle
Hoffman) and they discuss what normal seventeen year olds would do--love,
secrets, boys, drugs, alcohol, and Ciara's weakness for curry chips. Emma turns
out to be Anne's crazy great aunt who's often had a few too many drinks and
they both end up quite often in the confessional with the handsome Father Reilly
at different times unbeknowst to the other. The story unfolds with the
unimaginable happening intertwined with the after effects of the Belfast
bombings as the senior priest, Father Dermott Behan (Billy Melaeady),
although an old, drunken priest turns out to be quite wise and gives sage
advice to the much younger, Father Reilly. Twists and turns abound and it's
really a delight to watch. Overall, it's a wry, witty, and
bittersweet portrayal of a select group of people in a city at war.
I'd highly recommend to see The Belle of Belfast produced by The Irish Repertory Theatre and
presented at the DR2 Theatre in
Union Square.
-
Laura Thompson -
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