PRESS RELEASE

New Irish Play ‘The Pride of Parnell Street’ wows Foreign Audiences

‘perfectly pitched… production’ – Variety

‘grabs audience with rawness and power of love’ – New Haven

8th July 08: Fishamble: the New Play Company’s production ‘The Pride of Parnell Street’ has been wowing critics and audiences alike during its first international tour of the Europe and east coast America. The three-week tour is proudly supported by Culture Ireland. Culture Ireland has provided funding for a significant number of Irish stage successes in the US this year including: Abbey's ‘Terminus’ in January; Semper Fi's ‘Ladies and Gents’ in March; Druid's ‘Walworth Farce’ in April; and Pan Pan's ‘Oedipus Loves You’ in May.

The Sebastian Barry play received a standing ovation every night during the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, and in an attempt to assuage demand, extra shows were added. The play was attended by leading Irish Americans Jean Kennedy Smith, New York-based novelist Colum McCann and leading representatives from the theatre world in New York and New Haven.

The play was similarly applauded in the New Haven media – the New Haven Independent heralded “a gorgeous new monologue play” and stated that “the script is simply stunning”. The New Haven Register said that the “fine script, acting, direction and simple, yet evocative production design…grabs audience with rawness and power of love…[it is a] horrific yet beautiful story”.
Variety describes the play as “beautifully directed by Jim Culleton and performed by a pair of actors who feel for their characters down to their souls…”

At the ‘New Plays from Europe Festival’ in Wiesbaden, the audience demonstrated their appreciation demanding five curtain calls after each performance. The show also enjoyed standing ovations from packed houses in Paris at the Centre Culturel Irlandais.

Eugene Downes, Chief Executive, Culture Ireland said: “The magnificent response which The Pride of Parnell Street has received both in the US and Germany, together with the remarkable touring success of Pat Kinevane's Forgotten, represents a major step forward for Fishamble's international reputation. Supporting outstanding Irish artists and companies to make these breakthroughs in the global arts world is why Culture Ireland exists, and we are proud to have made both of these tours possible."

Director of ‘Pride of Parnell Street’, Jim Culleton said: “The reaction has been phenomenal – it is great to see a story set in Dublin receive such a remarkable international response. We are hugely appreciative of the support from Culture Ireland which has facilitated this tour, a significant step in Fishamble’s continued development.”

The Pride of Parnell Street is a moving account of a marriage and a time that have both past. Through interconnecting monologues an estranged couple, Janet and Joe, chart the intimacies of their love and the rupturing of their relationship, as well as their enduring love affair with Dublin city itself. It was nominated for The Best New Play, The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards 2007.