US Premiere
Written for and starring leading Irish actors
Seán McGinley and
Stephen Rea, Atlantic presents the Abbey Theatre production of
Ages of the Moon – a gruff, poignant and funny new play by Sam Shepard.
Byron and Ames are old friends, re-united by mutual desperation. Over bourbon on ice, they sit, reflect and bicker until fifty years of love, friendship and rivalry are put to the test at the barrel of a gun.
"Stephen Rea ad Seán McGinley fit their respective roles like gloves."
The Sunday Business Post
"An understated triumph of a play, funny and moving."
The Sunday Times
"A shotgun blast of brilliance."
Irish Mail on Sunday
"A charming work full of comedy and meaning."
The Irish Times
TEAM:
Sam Shepard (Playwright) - Sam Shepard’s latest plays Ages of the Moon (2009) and Kicking a Dead Horse (2007) were premiered at the Abbey Theatre in Ireland. He had his first New York plays, Cowboys and The Rock Garden produced by Theater Genesis in 1963. For several seasons, he worked with Off-Off-Broadway theatre groups including La MaMa and Caffe Cino. Eleven of his plays have won Obie Awards including Chicago and Icarus’s Mother(1965); Red Cross and La Turista (1966); Forensic and the Navigators and Melodrama Play (1967); The Tooth of Crime (1972); Action (1974) and Curse of the Starving Class (1976). He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize as well as an Obie Award for his play Buried Child (1979). Fool for Love (1982) received the Obie for Best Play as well as for Direction. The critically acclaimed production of True West, starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, opened in New York in 1984. A Lie of the Mind (1985) won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award in 1986 and the 1986 Outer Critics’ Circle Award for Outstanding New Play. States of Shock premiered at the American Place Theater in 1991 and Simpatico premiered at the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1994.When the World was Green (Chef’s Fable), written with his long-time collaborator Joseph Chaikin and commissioned by Seven Stages in Atlanta, premiered at the Olympic Arts Festival. Buried Child, revived under the direction of Gary Sinise, opened on Broadway in April 1996 and won a Tony Award nomination. Signature Theater Company devoted its 1996-1997 season to his work. Eyes for Consuela premiered at the Manhattan Theater Club in 1998 and in 2000 The Late Henry Moss premiered at the Magic Theater in San Francisco before opening in New York the following year. The God of Hell received its world premiere in New York during 2004, at the same time as Sam appeared in the New York premiere of Caryl Churchill’s A Number at New York Theater Workshop. Sam wrote the screenplays for Zabriskie Point, Wim Wender’s Paris, Texas and Robert Altman’s Fool for Love, a film version of his play of the same title. As writer/director, he filmed Far North andSilent Tongue in 1988 and 1994 respectively. As an actor, he has appeared in the films The Assassination of Jesse James, Days of Heaven, Resurrection, Raggedy Man, The Right Stuff, Frances, Country, Fool for Love, Crimes of the Heart, Baby Boom, Steel Magnolias, Bright Angel, Defenseless, Voyager, Thunderheart, The Pelican Brief, Safe Passage, Hamlet and Don’t Come Knocking, also co-written with Wim Wenders.
Stephen Rea (Ames) - Stephen began his career at the Abbey Theatre before moving to London. He most recently appeared there in Ages of the Moon and Kicking a Dead Horse by Sam Shepard (also in New York and London). He was first directed by Sam Shepard inGeography of a Horse Dreamer at the Royal Court. He also acted in Action at the Royal Court and Buried Child and Killer’s Head at the Hampstead Theatre and directed Little Ocean by Sam Shepard (also at the Hampstead). His first theatre role in London was as Tommy Owens in The Shadow of a Gunman with Jack McGowran at the Mermaid Theatre. He worked extensively at the National Theatre and the Royal Court where he worked with Samuel Beckett on Endgame. He was a founder member of Field Day Theatre Company with Brian Friel. Films include Nothing Personal, Ondine, Stuck, Sisters, Sixty Six, Till Death, V for Vendetta, Breakfast on Pluto, The River Queen, The Good Shepherd, Control, The Halo Effect, Ulysses, The I Inside, Evelyn, FearDotCom, The Musketeer, The End of the Affair, Guinevere, Still Crazy, In Dreams, The Butcher Boy, Fever Pitch, The Last of the High Kings, Trojan Eddie, Michael Collins, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, All Men Are Mortal, Prêt a Porter, Interview with a Vampire, Princess Caraboo, Angie, Bad Behaviour, The Crying Game, Life is Sweet, The Doctor and the Devils, The House, The Company of Wolves, Loose Connections and Angel. Stephen received an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for The Crying Game and a Tony Award nomination for Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me. Stephen is an Associate Artist of the Abbey Theatre.
Seán McGinley (Byron) - Prior to his appearance in Ages of the Moon, Seán last worked at the Abbey Theatre in 1993. His work here includes A Whistle in the Dark (Irish Theatre Award), A Crucial Week in the Life of a Grocer’s Assistant, Conversations on a Homecoming and Famine, all by Tom Murphy, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, The Comedy of Errors, John McGahern’s The Power of Darkness, The Shaughraun, The Corsican Brothers andThe Hamlet Project. Seán was a member of Druid from 1977-1989. Plays there included The Playboy of the Western World, Endgame, Waiting for Godot, Much Ado About Nothing, The Glass Menagerie, Loot, I Do Not Like Thee Dr Fell, Famine, On the Outside, Conversations on a Homecoming and Action and Geography of a Horsedreamer by Sam Shepard. In 2006 he returned to Druid to perform in Empress of India by Stuart Carolan which was also performed at the Abbey Theatre. Other theatre credits include Sam Shepard’s Simpatico, A Whistle in the Dark at the Royal Court (Time Out Award), Long Day’s Journey into Night (National Theatre, London), Aristocrats, Three Sisters, American Buffalo, and most recently, Conor McPherson’s The Weir, all at the Gate Theatre. Seán’s television credits include Roddy Doyle’s Family, National Entertainment Award (BBC), The Street (Ch 4), Minder, Cold Feet, Midsomer Murders, Watermelon (ITV) and Pure Mule (RTÉ). Films include The Field, Michael Collins, The Butcher Boy, Braveheart, Trojan Eddie, The General , The Claim, Dead Bodies, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, The Tiger’s Tail, Simon Magus, The Closer You Get and On a Clear Day (IFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film).
Jimmy Fay (Director) -
