Sean McGinley (Byron) was a member of the Druid Theatre Company from 1977-1989. Plays included The Glass Menagerie, Loot, Private Dick, The Playboy of the Western World and the Corsican Brothers. He has become a dominant force on the Irish stage, winning awards for Whistle in the Dark (The Abbey and Royal Court Theatre,) Much Ado About Nothing (The Druid Theatre,) The Shaurgraun (The Abbey Theatre) and The Hackney Office (The Druid Theatre.) His most recent TV credit is in (Republic of Doyle) playing the co-lead Malachy Doyle for CBC, other recent credits include Lewis for (ITV), Gently’s Last Case, for a series to be filmed in September 2007. Other recent television credits include programmes such as The Street by Jimmy McGovern (Granada Television,) Bleak House (playing the part of Snagsby,) Taggart, Pure Mule, Trial and Retribution VIII (La Plante Productions), Waking the Dead IV (BBC), Pulling Moves (BBC), and RTE’s series On Home Ground, The Vice V and the TV adaptation of Marian Keyes successful novel Watermelon. Other credits include The Hanging Gale, Murder Rooms, Making the Cut, The Ambassador, Cold Feet III and Midsomer Murders. Sean’s recent film work includes The Running Mate, The Wind That Shakes The Barley playing Father Dennis for director Ken Loach, 66 directed by Paul Weiland playing Mr O’Connor and On a Clear Day for which he won best supporting actor at the Irish Film and Television awards. Sean’s other film work includes Braveheart, Michael Collins, The Butcher Boy, The General, Simon Magus, Angela’s Ashes, The Closer You Get, The Claim, Gangs of New York , Dead Bodies, Conspiracy of Silence and Freeze Frame. Sean has just finished work on three Films: Shrooms for director Paddy Breathnach, A Tiger’s Tale for John Boorman and Closing The Ring for Richard Attenborough.

Stephen Rea (Ames) 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 in Geography 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.

Jimmy Fay (Director) is Artistic Director of Bedrock Productions where productions include This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan and Roberto Zucco by Bernard Marie-Koltès. He was the first director of the Dublin Fringe Festival (1995 -1996), which he co-founded with Bedrock Productions. Jimmy spent a year as acting Literary Director of the Abbey Theatre during  2007 and 2008. His productions at the Abbey Theatre include The Playboy of the Western World in a new version by Bisi Adigun and Roddy Doyle, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht, Saved by Edward Bond for which he won Best Director Irish Times Theatre Award 2007, The School for Scandal by R B Sheridan, Howie the Rookie by Mark O’Rowe, True West by Sam Shepard, Shakespeare’s Henry IV , Flánn O’ Brien’s At Swim-Two-Birds adapted by Alex Johnston and Melonfarmer by Alex Johnston. Other productions include Hoors by Gregory Burke (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh), The Last Days of the Celtic Tiger by Paul Howard (Landmark Productions), a Romanian version of Malachy McKenna’s Tillsonburg (Transylvania/Sibiu Festival), The Chairs by Eugene Ionesco adapted by Owen McCafferty, (Tinderbox), True West (Lyric Theatre, Belfast), Rap Éire by Arthur Riordan and Des Bishop and Comedians by Trevor Griffiths (Bickerstaffe).

Brien Vahey (Set Design) is an Associate Artist with the Abbey Theatre. His work at the Abbey includes Kicking a Dead Horse and A Number which he recently designed and A Whistle in the Dark which he designed in 1986. He has worked extensively in Ireland, England and America. Theatre design includes Three Sisters, The Hostage (Druid), An Ideal Husband (Gate Theatre), Antigone (Field Day), Three Days of Rain (Rough Magic), Sea Change (Riverside Studios), The Bells, A Doll’s House (Leicester Haymarket), Cocktail Party, Portraits (West End), A Moon for the Misbegotten (West End and Broadway), The Shadow of a Gunman (Broadway) and the opera, La buona figliola (Buxton Opera Festival).   Television and film production design includes Glenroe, Nighthawks, Fair City, Upwardly Mobile, On Home Ground, Making the Cut/DDU, Hell for Leather, Horse, After Midnight, The Battle of Inchion and Excalibur. Brien is a graduate in Fine Art from the Dun Laoghaire School of Art. He won the DeVeres Prize at the RHA in 1998. His work has been widely exhibited in many galleries including the DeVeres Gallery, Solomon Gallery and the RHA. Brien is also a graduate of the Motley Theatre Design Course, Riverside Studios and has lectured in theatre design at the Motley Design Course, Bristol University, Suffolk College Ipswich and DIT, Mountjoy Square, Dublin.

Joan Bergin (Costume Design) most recently designed  costumes for the Abbey Theatre’s Kicking a Dead Horse.  She has a long and distinguished career in theatre, television and film. During the 1970s and 1980s she was in-house designer for (the Lee Strasberg inspired) Focus Theatre and worked on many memorable plays such as A Doll’s House, Collier’s Friday Night and A Month in the Country. She worked with Noel Pearson on many productions ranging from The Pirates of Penzance to Brian Friel’s Translations on Broadway. Recent design work includes the Pinter Season and Billy Roche’s Poor Beast in the Rain at the Gate and Family Stories and Teja Verdes with b’spoke. Her film career covers the Jim Sheridan greats, My Left Foot, The Field, In the Name of the Father and The Boxer. Other recent film work includes Reign of Fire, Veronica Guerin and The Prestige. Television highlights include Roddy Doyle’s Family and David Copperfield. She recently received her third Emmy Award nomination and her second Emmy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on The Tudors.

Paul Keogan (Lighting Design) Born in Ireland, Paul read drama at The Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin and at Glasgow University. His lighting designs include; The Rivals, Comedy of Errors, Ages of the Moon, Marble, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Big Love, Romeo and Juliet, Woman and Scarecrow, Julius Caesar, School for Scandal, The Electrocution of Children, Making History, Cúirt an Mheán Oíche, Bailegangáire, Eden, and Heavenly Bodies (Abbey/Peacock Theatres Dublin). The Taming of the Shrew (Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon), The Birds (Gate theatre Dublin) medEia, Woyzeck, The Hairy Ape (Corcadorca, Cork), Intemperance (Everyman Liverpool), Harvest (Royal Court Theatre, London), Blue/Orange (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield), Born Bad and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (Hampstead Theatre London), Too Late for Logic (Edinburgh International Festival), Hoors, (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh), The Walworth Farce (Druid, Galway), Quay West (Bedrock Productions, Dublin). His designs for opera include; Die Zauberflöte (National Opera of Korea) Powder her Face (Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House London), The Lighthouse (Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte, Montepulciano Italy) The Makropulos Case (Opera Zuid, Netherlands) Pénélope, Susannah, Transformations, Snegurochka and The Mines of Sulphur (Wexford Festival Opera). 

Philip Stewart (Sound Design) Philip's work at the Abbey Theatre includes Terminus, Lay Me Down Softly, A Number and The Big House.  As a freelance composer he has contributed music to a broad spectrum of genres including theatre, dance, documentaries and short films. He has developed a long standing relationship with Hatch Theatre Company and created original music and sound design for their critically acclaimed production of Love and Money by Dennis Kelly. Philip studied composition at Trinity College Dublin under Donnacha Dennehy and Roger Doyle.

Alison DeSantis (Production Stage Manager) Atlantic Theater Company: Offices, What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling (also New World Stages), Almost an Evening (also Bleecker Street), Scarcity. Manhattan Theatre Club: Ruined, Our Leading Lady, Regrets Only. Other NYC: Play Company, Gotham Stage Company, Drama Dept. Regional: Three years at Geva Theatre Center. www.alisondesantis.com

Lauren Kurinskas (Assistant Stage Manager)  Most recent:  Take Flight Reading (Shire, Maltby & Weidman).  Other credits include:  The Chimes (Summer Play Festival, The Public) What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling (Atlantic; New World Stages); Alice in Wonderland (Symphony Space); Bad Jazz (The Play Company); Oscar and the Pink Lady, starring Rosemary Harris (The Old Globe); and The Elliott Smith Project (True Love Productions).  McCarter Theatre Center:  She Stoops to Conquer; Twelfth Night; Argonautika; The Mad 7; Edward Albee's Me, Myself & I, Mrs. Packard (also Kennedy Center); August Wilson's Radio Golf (Prior to Broadway); Lookingglass Alice (also New Victory); A Christmas Carol; and The Birthday Party.