WORLD PREMIERE

Daffodils are in bloom as dawn breaks over the foothills of Ballycumber, ushering in hope for a new day and stirring the ghosts of a past fraught with sorrow, isolation and emptiness.

Setting out in search of advice on a budding love interest, young Evans Stafford calls to the home of his friend Nicholas Farquhar. The following morning the local boy is found bloodied, note in hand. What is said during their brief encounter to fracture innocence and compel him to violence?

As Farquhar struggles to come to terms with his actions and their devastating consequences he discovers that his memories and words are governed by a force greater than himself – a buried history that propels both men towards a desperate and inevitable climax.

This world premiere from Sebastian Barry is a startling and intimate portrayal of two unlikely companions connected more closely than they realise, both haunted by the plague of solitude and the Tales of Ballycumber.

We are delighted to welcome the twice Booker-nominated author of The Secret Scripture (the Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year 2009 and winner of the 2008 Costa Book of the Year Award) back to the Abbey as part of this year’s Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival.


on the Abbey Stage

7 October - 7 November
Previews 30 September - 6 October

Cast: Aaron Monaghan, Derbhle Crotty, Dessie Gallagher, Lisa Hogg, Stephen Rea

Directed by David Leveaux
Set & Costume Design by Mike Britton
Video Design by Dick Straker
Composition by Corin Buckeridge